Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat: Summer
by Warrior Cat Cody
Summary: As greenleaf arrives, Avatar Cat Goldwing and his friends must hurry and defeat FireClan before Darkstar unleashes a sinister plot to make the world burn forever. Rated T for language, blood, mild gore, VERY mild sexuality, and violence. COMPLETE!
1. The Revival

**AvatarCat12: Hey, everyone! What's up? It's me! AvatarCat12! And welcome back to Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat! And this time...we're going into Book 3: Summer, the final season of Avatar Cat!**

**Katara: And it's me! Katara! Believe it or not, I don't think Holly's coming back to help us read this series. So instead...Avatar Aang's coming here to help us!**

**Aang: (Comes into the office) Hey there! And hey to you, Katara. (Kisses her quickly) So how's Tenzin doing?**

**Katara: After our time skip? He's growing quite well. And you wanna join us for the commentaries?**

**Aang: Sure! Can I say the disclaimer and the other stuff? (Both nod) All right! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 does not own my series or Warriors. Mike DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own them.**

**Summary: After being attacked by Frostfire, Goldwing wakes up days later at the enemy's territory. While there, he learns a very awful secret. In the meantime, Bearclaw is finally welcomed back to his home Clan as a hero.**

**Publishing Date: March 7, 2012**

**All four: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Revival_

A drop of water landed directly on the eyes of Avatar Cat Goldwing, making him groan as he sat up. The golden AirClan warrior tom winced at the mild pain he felt on his body; there appeared to be bandages covering his body and left hind leg. He stared down at the floor, his vision blurry and his head swaying.

Goldwing could recall what happened: EarthClan had fallen, and he had somehow survived an attack from FireClan cats. He thanked StarClan for sparing him to let him save the world, but he felt confused at where he was.

"Wha...what happened? Where am I?" he rasped, laying his tail on his aching belly.

The golden tom looked to the side as he smelt a familiar and awful odor; this made him realize what kind of ship he was on. There was red all around him, and FireClan symbols were glowing as brightly as the sun. He turned behind him to see the large tapestry with the FireClan insignia hanging on the wall behind him.

"Great StarClan, no!" he croaked, scrambling out of the nest he was lying in.

He tried to move his hind leg so that it could get him to move faster. But his left hind leg was still aching from a vicious lightning attack; it had time to recover. Goldwing reached the metal door ahead of him, opened it, and looked around in the empty hallway. There was no one there, to his relief.

So Goldwing hobbled into the hallway and limped down the dimly lit hallway, reeling from side to side while using his staff for a crutch. He could not bear the great pain that shot through every pawstep that he took. Goldwing wished for more than anything at the moment to get the pain away from him.

But just as he started to go around a corner, he heard a deep voice meow, "You hear somethin'?"

_FireClan cats! _Goldwing gasped silently. He peeped out from around a corner to see two cats in armor: one small and one as big as a badger. The big cat appeared to be carrying a club in its jaws.

Goldwing went back around the corner to avoid being seen by the two FireClan cats. Taking a big breath, he hobbled out from behind the corner, swung his staff, and Bended a strong gust of wind at the warriors. The warriors shielded themselves from the attack while Goldwing turned about and started to flee down the corridor.

"Hey! He's awake!" the big cat was yowling.

Panting, Goldwing kept on limping faster as he tried to get away, still using his staff as a crutch. He dared to look behind him and was horrified to see the two FireClan cats rounding around the corner to him.

"Stop! Wait!"

Goldwing ignored their cries and kept limping on. He came to a small flight of stairs leading to the deck and climbed up, still ignoring the calling. Then Goldwing tried to jump off the steps and onto the deck, but he ended up falling down. He lost his grip on his staff, and it slithered cleanly across the deck. The dark sky showed that it was night.

A stronger and strange scent entered Goldwing's nose, making him recoil at the smell. Then he saw what it was: two FireClan cats with capes, and Goldwing gasped when he saw who was with them. It was Tobias, his pet red-tailed hawk. He was cawing with small spasms of delight as the FireClan cats tickled the top of his head just as they looked down at the staff.

"Tobias?" Goldwing mewed with shock. _Did Tobias betray us and join FireClan?_

The cats and Tobias turned around to see him limping towards them with shock. But to his relief, Tobias lifted himself off the bigger cat's shoulder and flew over to Goldwing, happily cawing as he landed on his shoulder. From the purrs of the two FireClan cats, they were amused by this sight.

"I hope that's you there, Twinkletoes!"

At the familiar voice, Goldwing looked up to see two she-cats running towards him. The one who called him by his nickname was a small black she-cat with blind milky-green eyes. And the other she-cat was a pretty silver she-cat with a white chest, white paws, dark blue eyes, and a blue fox-fang necklace. Goldwing blinked at the familiar sight of them; both of them were wearing red capes.

He looked around him to see other cats gathering around him, and that included the big and small warrior cats in the ship. But they turned out to be Tiny and The Dude, two ginger-&-white toms and former Freedom Fighters.

The two other warriors removed their armor; Goldwing recognized the blue-gray tabby tom as Volefoot, a friend of Silverheart's father. But the second cat, a dark gray tom with one pale blue eye and one dark blue eye, was a strange to him.

"Goldwing! You're awake!" Silverheart purred, padding to him.

"Are you sure?" Goldwing mewed as he yawned. "Am I dreaming?"

Silverheart shook her head as her eyes filled with joyous tears. "No. You're awake at last," she purred, throwing him into a hug and catching him off guard.

"Yeah!" Nightpaw mewed, looking excited. "Good to see you again!"

Goldwing blinked at the black she-cat. "Yeah...you too, Nightpaw."

Nightpaw looked at him as if he had insulted her. "Nightpaw? Who the hell is this Nightpaw cat? I'm called Night_foot _now. I got my warrior name a few nights ago."

But before Goldwing could say something else, a voice meowed, "Goldwing! Good to see ya back in the living, pal!"

Silverheart let the golden cat go, and a dark gray tabby tom covered in armor padded over. The dark gray tabby clapped his shoulder with a hefty forepaw that almost knocked him down.

"A-Ashfeather?" Goldwing mewed, looking at the brother of Silverheart in confusion.

But all of a sudden, the world around him started to sway back and forth before him. All these situations, all the switching sides...they were all too confusing. With a grunt of pain, he keeled over to the ground, his dark gray eyes glazed.

"Mouse-dung! He's gonna fall! Someone catch him!" Nightfoot's mew rang through his head.

The last thing he felt before he fainted was the touch of teeth struggling to hold his scruff. And the last thing he heard before he fainted was the groan of Archie, his white-furred Asian Lung dragon. And at last, he felt himself vanishing in blackness once again.

**...**

The moon shone brightly through the clouds on this cool greenleaf night. A large dark brown tabby tom looked up at the moon, praying silently for his warrior ancestors. But there were no stars glittering down on him, for they were perhaps angry at what he did. However, that didn't matter to him.

Bearclaw sighed as he breathed in the crisp greenleaf air, feeling relieved on the inside. He was finally going home, to his father's Clan, where he would be seen as a hero. But a nagging truth tugged at the back of his mind: he had betrayed his uncle Irontail in the process. He recalled this ship rushing through the sea past the mountains of the Great White Pass on the other side.

"Aren't you cold?"

Whirling around on the spot, Bearclaw turned to see Rose padding towards him. Her dark brown tortoiseshell fur was glowing a pale gray in the moonlight, and her amber eyes, usually so dull and lifeless, were now warm and kind. Bearclaw also saw that she was carrying a red blanket in her jaws.

"I've got a lot on my mind for the moment," he sighed. "It's been so long. Over a year or so, and I'm finally going home. I wonder how everything's changed. I wonder...how _I've_ changed?" he added, lowering his head.

"I was just asking if you were cold or not. I didn't ask for your life story." Despite her tone, there was a bit of a purr in her voice, and her eyes were still warm. She smiled a bit as she rubbed her short pelt against Bearclaw's thicker fur, mewing, "So stop worrying, okay? You'll be fine."

Then, not much to his surprise, she looked into his eyes, amber eyes gazing into each other. Rose then leaned up to him and licked him very gently on the eye scar on the left side of his face. She pulled away from him, giving him a small wink as she padded away to the cabin of the ship.

Bearclaw felt a small purr rise inside his throat. Rose had become his mate back in BoulderClan, where they spent a night together in peace. However, he knew that she was his sister Frostfire's friend, which meant she would have to spend time with her, plotting something big.

He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to think over what had happened. But most importantly, he had a bit of a nagging affect in the back of his brain. And a searing question burned in his mind.

_Was it all worth it?_

**...**

"Why're we on a FireClan ship? Why is everyone dressed like this? And why am I the only one out of it?"

Goldwing had finally woken back up to hear what the others had to say. Archie had curled up beside his master, nudging him occasionally with his muzzle. Right before him, another warrior tossed him a red cape to wear as a disguise.

"Calm down, all right?" Silverheart's soft mew made him stop. "You got hurt pretty bad back at BoulderClan. And besides..." Her cheeks went red as she mewed, "...I like your black stripes."

This made Goldwing drop the finch he was eating from, bird meat falling from his mouth. "I-I have black stripes? Where's a bowl of water at?"

Silverheart nudged one over to him, and Goldwing sat down in front of his, his forelegs wrapped around it. He gave a startled gasp when he saw that his forelegs were black-striped instead of plain golden. When he saw his reflection, he gave a shocked yowl of surprise.

His fur was no longer pure golden, the golden shine he had taken pride in being named. It was instead, as Silverheart said, golden with black stripes racing around his body like a tiger. The black stripes even raced over the white arrow stripes on his head and his forepaws, hiding them almost from view.

"H-How long was I asleep for?" he asked Silverheart.

"Around a half-moon," Silverheart admitted, chuckling awkwardly.

"Everything okay?"

It was the dark gray tom with the strange-colored eyes speaking. He looked similar to Goldwing in the way his shoulders were shaped like Ashfeather's, and he seemed to have Silverheart's ear shape.

Silverheart, in the meantime, turned away from him. "We're fine, Dad."

_So this is Emberstar, _Goldwing mused, looking over at the WaterClan leader.

Emberstar gave a purr as he dipped his head towards the Avatar Cat. "It's good to meet you at last, Goldwing. My name is Emberstar, the leader of the southern WaterClan. I am also the father of Silverheart and Ashfeather."

"He already knows who you are, damn it!" Silverheart growled, her voice filled with annoyance. "I called you 'Dad' just now, right?"

Goldwing winced at this. Wasn't his crush happy to see her father after moons of separation and sorrow? Now she was acting as if he was nothing but a stranger to her.

"I suppose you're right," Emberstar replied, not paying attention to his daughter's cursing.

"It's okay," Goldwing meowed, tiredly getting up onto his paws as he dipped his head down awkwardly. "It's a great honor to officially meet you."

Emberstar bowed back. "And I to you."

But Silverheart began to suddenly push Emberstar away, growling, "All right, all right already! Now that you two finally met, do you mind giving us some privacy?"

"Well...not at all. Go ahead," her father replied as he looked mildly surprised.

The dark gray tom got up from his spot and padded away, pausing only to stroke Archie on the forehead with his tail. Goldwing looked over in confusion at Silverheart, who was glaring sternly over at where Emberstar, and he was surprised to see sullenness in her eyes. She seemed to be mad at him for no reason of any kind; he could even feel the leader's gaze on their pelts.

When Emberstar was out of earshot, Goldwing took the chance to meow, "Hey, Silverheart? Are you mad at your dad or something?"

"Huh? No, not at all. What makes you say that?" Silverheart muttered.

"It's just that...you seem kinda...never mind," the golden AirClan warrior replied. He didn't want to make her even angrier than she must have already felt.

But when he finished speaking, he let out a groan and keeled to the deck, the pain in his belly once again returning. It was the same pain he had felt when he had first woken up from his half-moon sleep. Turning around and seeing his pain, Silverheart seemed to forget to be angry at her father and leader.

She gently nudged him to his paws and murmured, "How about we get you into your nest? You need a healing session."

_That sounds good right now... _Goldwing thought with a sigh. He struggled a bit some more until he was standing up, despite feeling a bit wobbly on his paws. Leaning against Silverheart, he let her escort him carefully back to his room.

**...**

Goldwing laid out on his nest, his forelegs and hind legs spread out to give Silverheart access to his wound. He felt the stinging pain running from his throat to his left hind leg, and he winced as Silverheart ran a forepaw down it. The silver she-cat sat in front of him, Bended the water out of two bowls on either side of Goldwing, and laid her paw on the scar.

Noticing the pain on his face, Silverheart mewed, "Tell me where it hurts."

"A...a little higher," he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut from the pain.

Then suddenly...right when he shut his eyes, he saw the memories.

He could recall going into the Avatar Cat State during a battle in a crystal tomb in BoulderClan. But he could also recall being sliced across the belly by Frostfire, the deputy of FireClan, with a lightning attack. The memory of it striking him had made him shiver a bit. But he relaxed just a bit when he could remember Silverheart trying to heal the wound on his bloody body.

As Silverheart placed her paw back on his belly after the small tremor, Goldwing mewed, "Wow. You're definitely at the right spot."

"There's a lot of blocked energy around that spot," Silverheart mewed, feeling around it. "How about we see if I can..."

While meowing this, the silver WaterClan warrior pulled the healing water up and away from his scar. Goldwing felt a tiny bit better; being healed by her healing powers always made him feel much better.

But suddenly, he let out a groan of agony as he arched his back agonizingly. Flashes of lightning flashed before his eyes as the golden cat remembered getting struck by lightning, feeling the world around him grow black quickly. But as he had woken up for a short time, he remembered looking into Silverheart's beautiful dark blue eyes.

"I-I went down!" Goldwing mewed, sitting up fast. "I didn't just get hurt, right? It was worse than that. I...I was dead. But...you brought me back to life."

Silverheart looked modest. "Don't give me any credit on that. I just used the Moonpond water from the North Pole. I don't know exactly _how_ I did it, though."

Goldwing rasped on, "But you saved me. I...I don't know what to say."

"Try and get some rest," Silverheart murmured, gently nuzzling his face with her muzzle.

She laid him back down onto his nest and padded away, looking back over her shoulder once. Thankful for Silverheart for saving his life, Goldwing curled up into a ball and closed his eyes.

**...**

"Your deputy Frostfire, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and infiltrated EarthClan's capital. In BoulderClan, she found her brother Bearclaw, and together, they faced the Avatar Cat. The Avatar Cat fell, and EarthClan fell."

Bearclaw listened to those words ring out, twitching his new patched-up black ear. Before they headed back for the ceremony, Frostfire had made a pit trap for a panther to fall into. When the big black cat was dead, Frostfire leaped into the pit, cut off one of its ears, and leaped out again. With that done, she had some warriors stitch the black ear onto Bearclaw's missing ear and made sure it was cut so that it looked like a normal cat's ear.

Right now, he was at the FireClan capital city and harbor. Lo and Li, two old hairless tabby she-cats, were seated on top of a very high veranda at the royal city square, facing a large crowd of FireClan cats. Behind them was a large archway filled with flames, which Bearclaw was sitting behind; Frostfire was with the two elders.

Lo and Li went on, "Frostfire's warriors and agents quickly overtook the entire city. They went to BoulderClan's great walls and brought them down! The armies of FireClan surged through the wall and swarmed over BoulderClan, securing our victory for moons to come."

Before he left the city, Bearclaw could recall the Tai Kwan, Frostfire's agents, sliding down the wall, using EarthBending to weaken it. They landed on the ground and sprang forth, slamming their paws into the wall and causing a large section of it to collapse. When that was done, many FireClan cats stormed into the city, attacking those who opposed them.

As they had stalked through the city streets, he could see many cats cringing from them in fright; they included Jade, a she-cat he had dated before, and the owner of a cream shop. There was also a dark gray-&-white tom cringing away, chewing on his claws in fear. To end the vision, there was a group of six cats, the three kits in the group mewling as they watched the patrols stalk in front of them.

"Now your great heroes have returned," Lo and Li went on. "Presenting...Frostfire, who is going to let her brother be the deputy in her place!"

"Frostfire! Frostfire!" the cats cheered as the black she-cat stared down at the crowd, pride filling her bright yellow eyes.

Lo and Li finished the speech, "And after a long year of absence, your long-awaited new deputy has come home! Bearclaw!"

"Bearclaw! Bearclaw!" the voices chanted.

Seeing this as his cue, Bearclaw stalked forward and leaped onto the railing, looking down at the cheering crowd. He had done it; he was now the deputy of his Clan, FireClan. At first, he was quite worried about not getting an apprentice, but he was assured that he would get one soon.

But as for Darkstar...he could not wait to see his father again. It had been many moons...

**...**

The next morning, when the sun was shining brightly, Goldwing had woken up to the delicious smell of birds roasting. He had padded outside his nest and found everyone on deck, tearing into roasted pheasants they seemed to have caught. Goldwing supposed that the warriors had stopped by some land to hunt for a bit.

Seeing the Avatar Cat come over to them, two cats (Emberstar and Nightfoot) picked a pheasant up and brought it over to him. Goldwing gratefully took it over to his friends and sank his fangs into the crispy bird meat. It felt very good on his tongue after days of not eating.

"So what happened while I was knocked out?" Goldwing asked anyone.

"A lot happened since that," Ashfeather meowed. "After what happened at BoulderClan, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Iguana Bay, where we found our dad and the other warriors of our Clan. Cavestar decided to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone. ...well, not very alone, actually; Yogi went with him. Soon, the bay was overrun with FireClan ships. Rather than fighting them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise. Since then, we've travelled west."

He pulled out a map and pointed to Iguana Bay, moving his paw across the Great White Pass. "We crossed through the Great White Pass just a few sunrises ago. We've seen a few FireClan ships here and there, but they just left us alone."

Goldwing tiled his head to one side, praying inside for Cavestar to have a safe journey through the world. "So what now? What do we do from here?"

"Well, we've been working on a revised version of the invasion plan," Emberstar began.

"It's _Ashfeather's _invasion plan," Silverheart growled, sounding annoyed.

_Seriously? What the hell is she angry at her father for? _Goldwing wondered.

Emberstar blinked a few time, looking mildly miffed at his daughter's behavior. "You're right. It IS Ashfeather's invasion plan. Anyways, without the warriors of EarthClan, we won't be able to mount a massive invasion. But we still have an advantage over them: the solar eclipse will still make FireClan vulnerable."

"So as of right now, we're planning a smaller invasion," Ashfeather added. "It's just gonna be an assorted team of our friends and allies we met on our journey. We already ran into Tiny and The Dude in the woods."

"It's good to see you again, Goldwing!" Tiny purred, sinking his huge fangs into a pheasant. The Dude, who was now nearly the size of Nightfoot, was nodding along with his bigger friend.

Ashfeather purred, his voice dropping to a whisper, "But the eclipse isn't our best advantage! We have a secret: you!"

Goldwing felt confused at this. "Me?"

"Yeah! Every Clan cat thinks you're dead!" Ashfeather purred, his tail waving back and forth. "Isn't that great?"

This made Goldwing spit out his pheasant in shock. He couldn't believe it; the whole world now thought he was dead when he really wasn't. The Clans' savior was still alive, yet no one knew it, and he was supposed to save them all!

_Great StarClan! What next?_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldwing looked over the side of the ship as it slowly came close to a nearby island. It still bothered him of how the world thought he was dead; it was even more disturbing than when he had woken up from being in the White Stone.

He glared over his shoulder and growled at Ashfeather, "You said that it was a GOOD thing everyone thought I was dead? How the hell is that good? It's terrible!"

"No, listen! It really IS great!" Ashfeather insisted. "It means FireClan won't hunt us like mice anymore. And even better, they won't expect you on The Day of Dark Sun."

"No, no, no, no, no. You have no idea. This is so screwed up!" Goldwing spat, thinking things could not get any worse.

As if reading his mind, the sound of a ship's horn blasted out from the skyline. Ashfeather turned his head around to look for the source of the noise. Goldwing felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle; he hadn't had this much action ever since he was knocked out.

So he pulled out his claws and growled, "I'll handle this. The Avatar Cat has returned!"

Goldwing grabbed his glider staff from the side and slammed it on the floor, opening its wings. However, it caused him to flinch in pain and fall onto his side. Bearing through it, the golden tom grabbed the glider's wings and prepared to take off.

"Wait." Silverheart's mew made him look over at her. "They don't know we're FireClan cats. Remember?"

But Goldwing just glared at her in indignation, in the manner of a grounded kit. Despite that, he knew he would never try to upset with her, and there was no arguing there. So he had no choice but to sigh and pad away from the patrol, which was going forward to greet the enemy patrol.

He could hear Emberstar call, "Now calm down. Volefoot and I will handle this." Then he looked over to see the WaterClan leader and his deputy donning their FireClan helmets.

Tiny, who was wrapped in a large piece of tarp, was holding The Dude in his jaws like he was carrying a kit. But the smaller ginger-&-white tom didn't mind this at all; instead, he squealed with amusement as Tiny tossed him up onto Archie's shoulder. The Dude grabbed the piece of tarp his friend tossed up and spread it out over himself and Archie. As they settled into the cargo pit, Tobias flew in after them both.

Goldwing crouched low with them, not wanting to stay behind, as Nightfoot settled beside him. To make him feel better, Silverheart and Ashfeather joined them in the cargo pit. They watched on as Emberstar and Volefoot set out for their mission.

"I hate not doing anything," Goldwing growled, letting his claws slide out.

"Hopefully, you don't _need _to," Nightfoot muttered.

Splashing told him that the ships were stopping parallel to each other. A bridge lowered down across the gap between the two. Goldwing poked his muzzle out to see a gray tabby FireClan cat crossing the ship, numerous scars turning his jaws into a snarl. Two FireClan cats followed their patrol leader closely behind.

As they padded up to Emberstar and Volefoot, who glanced at each other, Goldwing let out a low growl. He felt his new ginger fur bristle, partly thankful for his new black stripes.

"Commander, why are you off course?" the gray tabby cat meowed when he reached the two FireClan cats. "All western fleet ships are supposed to be moving toward BoulderClan to support the occupation."

"Actually, we're just from the eastern fleet," Emberstar replied. "We have received a message to deliver some cargo, that's all."

The gray tabby nodded. "Ah, the eastern fleet. Well, nice of Dashingwind to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way. Good for him."

Volefoot nodded. "I'm sure Dashingwind means no disrespect."

"I mean, how hard is it to write a message and send a falcon to us?" the gray tabby cat added, rolling his yellow eyes.

Emberstar nodded with his deputy. "We'll send over two falcons next time to give you another message."

The southern WaterClan leader and the FireClan warrior nodded before stalking away in their respective directions. Goldwing was about to mutter something else when Nightfoot flicked her tail at him to be quiet. Quickly, he fell silent, for as soon as the two FireClan warriors stalked away, the ginger-&-gray cat with him started to mutter something.

"Uh, sir? Dashingwind has been at Great Palm Island for his vacation for two moons," the ginger-&-gray tom was mewing.

The gray tabby tom started at him in shock. "What the...? Why doesn't anyone tell me anything? Something's not right. They should've known. I think this is just a captured ship." Whispering, he growled, "Just stay quiet until we're safely across the ramp. Then we're going to sink this ship!"

In the darkness of the cargo pit, Goldwing could hear Nightfoot gasp at the last sentence. Then, without warning, the black-furred warrior sprang up from the cargo pit and swung her muzzle at the FireClan warriors.

"They know!"

As she yowled this, Nightfoot thrust her paws down towards the floor. To Goldwing's shock, she was grabbing the metal with her claws and twisting it. As quick as a flash, Nightfoot Bended a fissure in the metal, leading all the way up to the bridge. The bridge buckled, and the officer and the warriors lost their balance just as the bridge fell out from underneath them. The warriors and their officer were yelling in fear, falling into the water below.

Silverheart leapt out of the cargo pit and Bended a small mountain of water up between the ships. She turned around in a circle and thrust her tail forward. The water slammed into the side of the other ship, knocking it back several cat-lengths. The water crashed onto the enemy ship's deck, and the stolen FireClan ship began to make its escape. Peeking out, Goldwing saw a rope ladder being tossed over the side of the FireClan ship to the officer and the warriors floating in the sea. The gray tabby officer grabbed on with his claws and teeth and began to climb.

_When will it be MY turn?_

**...**

The ducks waited patiently in the pond as Bearclaw gingerly took a piece of bread in his jaws and tossed it to them. After he had come home to the capital city of FireClan, the very first thing Bearclaw did was check to see how the ducks his mother took care of were. The mother duck, who was one of the ducklings from long ago, led her ducklings over to the bread and helped them gobble it up.

Suddenly, an approaching shadow caused the ducks to quack with fright and swim away. The shadow belonged to Frostfire, whom the ducks seemed to not like that much. Bearclaw looked up at his littermate as she approached him.

"You seem tense," Frostfire meowed. "Has Rose gotten to you lately? Actually, Rose seems to be in a weirdly good mood lately."

Bearclaw blushed about it, but that wasn't what bothered him. Out loud, he admitted, "I haven't seen our father yet. It's been a year since I last saw him...since I was exiled."

"So what?" Frostfire asked him as if she dared to ask him a question.

"So I didn't get the Avatar Cat," Bearclaw sighed.

Frostfire rolled her golden-yellow eyes. "Who cares about that? The Avatar Cat's dead, and we can assure he'll be damned to Hell. Unless if you think he's amazingly still alive?"

Bearclaw looked down and away from his sister, thinking about what she said. His thoughts had zoomed back to what Silverheart, the silver WaterClan she-cat, had told him back in the crystal catacombs. He even remembered what she had told him about getting rid of his burn scar for him.

"This is water from the Moonpond at the North Pole," Silverheart once told him. "It has some special healing properties, so I was saving it for something important. I guess this is important too. I don't know if this will work, but..."

Snapping his eyes open, Bearclaw realized that she would not want to heal his scar after how he had betrayed her. However, that would only be her problem, not his.

So he muttered, "...no. I don't think he survived."

Frostfire stared at him through narrowed eyes, as if she didn't believe him. Bearclaw glared back at her as if he dared her to go ahead and challenge him. However, she just shrugged and turned her back on him.

"Then what's there to worry about?" Frostfire meowed, stalking away.

_Plenty, _Bearclaw thought. _But this should be a day of celebration...right?_

**...**

A FireBender moved back after kindling an oily rock loaded onto a trebuchet. The trebuchet was fired and the flaming ammo was flung into the air towards the stolen FireClan ship. The lit-up rock hit the water, just missing the stolen ship. The FireClan ship fired again at the stolen ship, and the flaming boulder hit the hull. Everyone on the ship tried to regain their balance as it tipped to one side.

Nightfoot entered an EarthBending stance as The Dude stood behind her. "Load the cannons!" the black she-cat called.

Tiny was shoving a big stone disc over to the two small cats, setting the stone disc in front of Nightfoot. The EarthClan warrior took two steps forward, slamming her left front paw into the floor and popping the disc into the air in front of her. She turned around in a full spin and shoved the stone disc with her forepaws, shooting it at the enemy ship. The stone disc flew across the water towards the real FireClan ship. It hits the trebuchet, demolishing it.

Another trebuchet was soon being fired. Nightfoot reacted with launching another disc. The flaming boulder and the stone disc collided in the air and exploded.

"Come on..." Goldwing growled through gritted teeth, kneading his paws on the floor. "I have to get out there!"

He and Ashfeather were hiding inside the hall leading to the bridge, both on either side of the doorway leading out to the deck. Outside the hall, a fireball hit the water and caused a big splash. Goldwing attempted to run out and help in the battle, but Ashfeather grabbed his tail with his teeth and shook his head, stopping the golden tom. Goldwing stalked back to his hiding spot and knocked his head against his staff in frustration.

A ballista on the enemy FireClan ship was pointing downwards and firing. The chained metal projectile shot into the water and punctured the hull of the stolen ship. Goldwing could feel the metal ship creak as water began to rush in. If nothing was done soon, everyone on the ship would drown.

Silverheart stood at the edge of the deck looking down at the breach. She waved her feathery tail upwards, pushed her forepaws down, and exhaled some freezing mist towards the hole in the hull. The mist descended down the ship toward the breach, and the hole now froze over.

"I'll give us some cover!" she yowled, holding her tail down as she pushed down the water between the ships.

A cloud of mist formed and rose up. Silverheart lifted her tail up and Bended a huge cloud of mist into the air. She pushed her forepaws out, making the mist float behind the stolen ship, clouding the view. Now the mist was engulfing both ships.

_I wish I can help her right now, _Goldwing thought mutinously. He wanted to help the she-cat he loved no matter how hard the situation was.

Nightfoot, The Dude, Volefoot, and Emberstar looked up as they stood on deck. All four cats ran when a fireball pierced through the mist. Tiny was standing by a load of stone discs, dropping a disc he was holding and running away just before the fireball smashed into the pile of discs. Both Goldwing and Ashfeather crouched low, still hiding. They were both shaken by the last attack as the debris and smoke flew past the doorway.

"That's it! I won't stand by and do nothing!" Goldwing spat, rushing towards the battlefield.

"Goldwing! No!" He felt teeth grab his tail yet again as Ashfeather pulled him back. When the Avatar Cat turned to glare at the dark gray tabby, Ashfeather explained, "You're still hurt. And besides, you have to stay secret. Let US handle it."

Goldwing growled "Fine," and stalked back into the hallway. He snatched up his staff and stalked away from Ashfeather, who was giving him a look of concern.

But there was another explosion, and Ashfeather was caught in a wave of smoke. The two ships were now exiting the mist cloud. Another fireball was fired from the enemy ship, and it hit the back end of the stolen ship's deck. Silverheart looked away to shield herself from the attack as the engine caught on fire. The silver warrior Bended water up from below and threw it at the fire, extinguishing it.

"Hey, Ashfeather! How we doing over here?" Nightfoot called.

Ashfeather called, "Well, things can't get much worse, can they?"

As if answering that question, a large gray shape shot out of the water and towered above them, roaring. Goldwing recognized the creature as the gray plesiosaur from the Great White Pass; what it was doing far away from there was a mystery. But right now, it was angry...and hungry.

"Aww! StarClan just _loves_ to prove me wrong, doesn't it?" Ashfeather whined.

Nightfoot called, "You make it so easy!"

The plesiosaur was about the strike when a fireball from the enemy ship struck it in the head; this created a charred mark on its eye where the fireball hit. Its teeth bared as saliva dripped into the water, the prehistoric beast dove down into the water. As soon as it disappeared, it emerged near the enemy ship and wrapped its long neck around the vessel.

Ashfeather looked very shocked to see the plesiosaur attacking the other ship. He, Silverheart, and Tiny slowly moved away from the sight of the behemoth attacking the enemy ship.

"Thank you, StarClan!" Ashfeather called.

But Goldwing could not praise StarClan. If they were to really help, they would let him fight along with his friends! He had to admit, though, that they had handled the situation well without him; was this what his friends had done while he was knocked out? But still, he wished he was part of that battle.

**...**

_There are things in life you'll learn and_

_In time you'll see_

_Cause out there somewhere_

_It's all waiting_

_If you keep believing_

Goldwing's belly growled as he laid down in his nest and stared up at the ceiling. Except for the pheasant he had that morning, he hadn't had anything to eat all day. He pawed feebly at the drop of water dropping from the ceiling, thankful for whenever he lapped it up. But he still wanted to help his friends out with the battle, despite the battle being hours ago.

A knock made Goldwing look over to where the entrance of his room was. Nightfoot was at the entrance, peeping her head inside to see him...even though she couldn't see anything.

"Hey, Goldwing. We stopped at the town where Silverheart stole a pirate's scroll. We're there for some dinner," she explained. "You wanna come with us?"

"Well, I AM getting kinda hungry. So dinner won't be a bad idea," Goldwing purred, leaping out of his nest and padding forward.

But Ashfeather poked his head inside, holding a red bandana in his jaws. "Here, you can tie this to your head. It'll cover your arrow. You know you've got the white pointy part uncovered by the stripes, right?"

This made Goldwing feel indignant as he stepped back. "No. If I can't wear my arrow stripes proudly, I won't go out to dinner."

"Goldwing, just be realistic," Ashfeather began.

"Can you excuse us for just a minute?" Silverheart's voice mewed as she stepped into the room. "You can go ahead of us. We'll catch up."

_So don't run, don't hide_

_It will be all right_

_You'll see, trust me_

_I'll be there watching over you_

Ashfeather and Nightfoot shared a glance before nodding and leaving. Goldwing sighed and leapt back onto his nest, blowing on his tail tip as it thumped onto the nest.

Silverheart leaped into his nest next to him and laid a paw on his shoulder. "Goldwing, I think I know why being a secret is bothering you a lot. You don't want others to think you failed."

"You're right. I don't," the ginger tom sighed. "But the problem is...I _did_ fail."

"Goldwing, that's not true," Silverheart objected.

But Goldwing looked into her eyes mewed, "Yes it is. I was in BoulderClan. I was there, but I lost the damn battle. And now, thanks to me...EarthClan's gone. Two Clans are left...and it's all my fault. I hate this."

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_There's a better place_

_Somewhere out there_

Silverheart sighed, "You DO know that there's still the invasion plan, right?"

"And I hate the invasion plan too! I don't want you or anyone else to risk your lives fixing any mistake I made!" Goldwing roared, feeling angrier than he felt in a few moons. He grabbed the tapestry above his bed and ripped it down, throwing it to the floor and knocking over his staff.

Feeling his anger go away and replaced by bitterness, he mewed, "I've always known I would have to fight Darkstar. But now...I have to do it alone."

"Goldwing..." Silverheart began to mew. But Goldwing didn't want any pity at the moment.

"Just go, Silverheart. Please," he growled, turning his back on her. "Just go."

The silver she-cat hung her head sadly and leapt off the nest towards the door. But she turned her head around to meow, "Is there anything you need, Goldwing?"

Goldwing took a deep breath as he looked down at his claws, which slid out and dug themselves into his nest. Without turning back, he muttered, "I have to redeem myself. I have to regain my honor. No matter what."

He waited for Silverheart to tell him that he was acting like Bearclaw, a cat who had attacked them at BoulderClan. But she didn't; instead, fading pawsteps told him that she went away, pity clinging onto every hair on her pelt.

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_Everything changes_

_You'll be amazed what you'll find_

_If you look through my eyes_

**...**

The large hallway in the royal FireClan palace was quiet as Bearclaw prowled his way down its path. He knew that the time had finally come: to see his father, the cat he hadn't seen for moons. Every step he took, his claws would slide out and click on the clean shiny floors, making small clicking noises. And his pelt was bristling all over, a mixture of joy and anxiety in the quivering.

For a moment, he began to wonder if he could greet his father in the morning. But he scolded himself for thinking of this; Darkstar even said that thinking a lot would not get him anywhere. So Bearclaw muttered some comforting words to himself before looking back up.

"Just get it over with," he muttered to himself. "He's your father, right? Well, go see him!"

He stood in front of an arch covered by a reddish curtain with a golden symbol of FireClan on it. Bearclaw took a deep breath, braced himself, and padded forward, parting the curtain. When he got behind the curtain, he stared around in awe at the leader's throne room. The throne room was filled with dark ornate pillars.

And there was Darkstar himself. Bearclaw's father was sitting on his throne up on the platform, separated from the rest of the throne room by a trench of fire. The black aura that always swirled around him seemed to fade away until he could see a pair of yellow eyes gazing at him.

**...**

"Goldwing? You there?"

Silverheart was padding down the hallway towards Goldwing's room, a mouse held tight in her jaws. She knew Goldwing probably meant what he said, but she wanted to help him no matter what he said. He was her best friend, and she would do anything to help him.

When she got to Goldwing's room door, she knocked on it with a forepaw, ignoring the need to eat the mouse in her jaws. Then she meowed, "I know you might not be too hungry right now. So I got you a mouse to snack on. We got other food for you if you'd like some."

No answer.

Silverheart gave a sigh and pushed the door open to pad inside. But when she got inside, she saw that Goldwing was not there. His scent was quite stale, which meant he must have run away. She remembered him saying that he had to redeem himself...which must be what he was doing.

"Oh no..." Silverheart rasped, her eyes widening with shock. She ended up dropping the mouse and running out the room. Goldwing had to come back, and she would have to do something about it.

**...**

His heart beating faster than ever, Bearclaw sat down in front of his father and bowed low. The young dark tabby even dared to look up to see his father getting up from his throne. All the eager anxiety was making his tail twitch and his whiskers quiver.

As Darkstar prowled nearer to his son, he growled, his voice smooth, "You have been away for quite a long time. I see the weight of your travels has changed you and your ways of the world. You have redeemed yourself at last, my son."

And at that, he stepped out of the black aura he was behind for so long.

If Darkstar was in a mirror, Bearclaw would be looking at a similar version of himself. Like his son, Darkstar had strong muscular shoulders, a shaggy dark brown tabby pelt, long front claws, and amber eyes. The only difference was that there was no burn scar on his face, though there was a single claw mark across his right eye. He even had a nearly-split left ear and a scar across the bridge of his nose.

"Father..." Bearclaw choked, happy to see his father.

"Welcome home...son."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

...

_There will be times on this journey_

_All you'll see is darkness_

Raindrops fell hard on Goldwing's face like shards of ice while he flew over open water. He let out small growls of pain as he winced from his wounds. He lost some altitude and almost hit the water before regaining control. He didn't care if Silverheart tried to stop him; he knew he had to do this all on his own.

He had to.

_Out there somewhere_

_Daylight finds you_

_If you keep believing_

**...**

The sky outside had gotten windy and rainy, dark clouds rolling around in the sky like rocks. Emberstar sniffed the air, thankful for the rain to arrive like it had done just a half-moon ago. He was about to meow something to Volefoot, who was standing beside him, when he heard a small sniffing sound behind him.

Emberstar turned around to face Silverheart, who had come out from the hall in the ship. His daughter's dark blue eyes, so much like her mother's, were sparkling with tears.

"I think I'll leave you two alone for now," Volefoot mewed and padded off somewhere else.

_So don't run, don't hide_

_It will be all right_

_You'll see, trust me_

_I'll be there watching over you_

His leader nodded and turned back to his daughter. "Silverheart? What's wrong?"

"He...he left," she rasped.

"What?" Emberstar mewed, feeling surprised.

Silverheart went on in a frustrated way, "It's Goldwing. He just took his glider and vanished. He got this mouse-brained belief that he has to save the world all by himself. He even said that it was his responsibility, and his alone."

Emberstar tilted his head to one side. "Maybe it's his way of thinking he's brave?" he guessed.

"No it's not!" Silverheart spat, making her father back up. "It's stupid and selfish! We should be out there to help him! I know the world needs him, and I respect that, but...doesn't he remember that we need him too? How could he just leave us like that?"

"You're talking about me too, right?" Emberstar sighed, hanging his head low. It was time for that talk, and he would understand if his daughter never forgave him. The words had sunk in deep into his heart, and those words pierced his heart like a flash of claws.

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_There's a better place_

_Somewhere out there_

Silverheart's eyes leaked with shiny tears as she choked, starting to cry, "How could you leave us like that, Emberstar? How could you? I know we had Rainbreeze, and she loved us and still does, but...we were just lost without you!"

Then she turned away from her father and let out her sorrow, sobs making her shoulders shake. Emberstar, feeling guilty of making his family feel like this, padded over to her and gently laid his tail on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Silverheart," he mewed, hanging his head. "I really am."

Then, to his amazement, his silver-pelted daughter turned back around and hugged him, crying into his long neck fur. Emberstar returned the embrace, laying his head on her shoulder and licking her to comfort her. It seemed that she was no longer angry at him for what had happened.

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_Everything changes_

_You'll be amazed what you'll find_

"I understand why you left. I really do," Silverheart croaked, still crying. "And I know you had to leave for battle...but why do I feel this way? I felt so sad and angry...and hurt."

Emberstar watched as she met his gaze, her eyes swimming in tears. "I love you and your brother more than anything else in the world. You two are my entire world after Seamist died. I thought about you two every day I was gone and every night when I went to sleep. I would even stay up at night, thinking of you two and missing you so much that my heart aches."

Silverheart leaned into her father's warm pelt once again, more tears running down her cheeks. The dark gray tomcat bent his head low to lick the tears away, grateful that his daughter had at last forgiven him. But what was even more important was that the family was back together, even though Seamist was no longer here to be with them.

_If you look through my eyes_

**...**

Bearclaw laid low to the ground, looking up as Darkstar prowled around him, his tail sweeping up dust from the ground. His father looked very much like Tigerstar, who was the ancestor of the royal FireClan cats. He and his father shared the ancient cat's shaggy dark brown tabby fur, the sharp amber eyes, and the scars they had gotten from battles. It was just like meeting Tigerstar's ghost in the flesh.

He even got some shivers in his pelt as he looked up at his father. Bearclaw wondered what kind of emotion was in Darkstar's eyes, and there mixed with some unknown emotion. But there was also a hint of pride behind those pale yellow orbs.

"I am proud of you, my son," Darkstar meowed as he paced around him. "I am proud because your sister captured BoulderClan. I am proud because, when your loyalty was tested by your traitorous uncle, you did the right thing, and captured the deserter. And I am proudest of all of your most legendary triumph. You killed the Avatar Cat."

"What did you hear?" Bearclaw asked, shocked that Darkstar would say that. But he didn't kill the Avatar Cat; he was busy battling Silverheart.

Darkstar stopped in front of him and replied, "Your sister told me everything. She said she was amazed and captivated with your power and ferocity at the moment of truth."

Bearclaw looked down and away from his father, unable to tell him the truth. It was Frostfire who had killed the Avatar Cat, not him. Despite what he was feeling right now, he did feel confused at what his sister had done.

If she admired Darkstar a lot, why did she lie to him about Bearclaw killing the Avatar Cat? And was this why she had let him become the deputy of their Clan? So that she would avoid any sort of punishment that Darkstar would give her?

_No. She's my sister. But still...I should ask her._

**...**

Even though his belly fur was brushing against the surface of the water, Goldwing kept his head held high as he flew over the ocean. While he fought for control, the tip of the glider's wings skimmed cleanly against the surface. But he pulled up in time just to see something blocking his way from his destination.

_Blockade, _Goldwing thought, taking a deep breath. He still had to make sure FireClan would not see him until the right time came.

He collapsed his glider and dove down into the water. Goldwing rocketed through the water and under the blockade, scaring away three green marine iguanas. He popped out of the water on the other side, catching his breath and clearly exhausted. But then...he spotted a large piece of drift wood and swam over to it. Goldwing sunk his claws on to it, climbed onto it, and smiled a bit as an idea came into his head.

Goldwing stood shakily on his paws and began windsurfing, using the debris as a board and his glider as a sail and bouncing over the waves. He knew he was succeeding in this, but now, it was raining heavily. The golden tomcat struggled to hang on as the board bounced high into the air. Then he hit the water, but he was quickly wiped out.

Before he fainted, he could see a few fins swim over to him in a straight line.

**...**

"Why'd you do it?"

This was what Bearclaw told Frostfire when he entered her den. He had walked in on her while she was sleeping in her nest, looking quite peaceful with her tail around her face. But his voice had woken her up, though she still kept her eyes closed.

"What was that? You'll have to be a bit more specific," the black she-cat muttered.

Bearclaw sighed and went on, his voice rising a bit, "Why the hell did you tell Darkstar _I_ killed the Avatar Cat?

It was Frostfire's turn to sigh. "Can't this wait until dawn?"

"No," Bearclaw growled sternly.

"Fine." Frostfire opened her eyes, got up from her nest, and started to stretch. As she stretched her forelegs out, she yawned, "You looked so worried about how Father would treat you because you didn't get the Avatar Cat. So if I gave you the credit, you'd never have to worry."

Bearclaw wasn't satisfied. "But why?"

Frostfire paused in licking her forepaw and meowed, "Call it a friendly gesture. I want to thank you for your help, and I'm happy to share the glory instead of hogging it like a hound."

"You're lying."

"Whatever you say," the former deputy mewed, leaping out of her nest and padding past her littermate.

Bearclaw whipped around to face her. "I know you did this for another reason. I just don't know what that reason really is."

Frostfire stopped in her pacing and faced him. "Come now, Bearclaw. What secret reason could I have? What could I feasibly gain by letting you get all the glory for killing the Avatar Cat once and for all? Unless somehow..." she added, her eyes narrowing, "...the Avatar Cat might still be alive. All that glory would suddenly turn to shame and folly. But it's impossible; you even said it yourself. Sleep well, Teddy."

She padded past her brother, flicking his face with her tail before leaping back into her nest. As the black cat settled back down into her nest, Bearclaw backed away from her nest and got back out into the hallway.

What was it with her telling him that the Avatar Cat was alive? Unless...she really DID hint that he really WAS alive? If so, then she had lied to Darkstar about the Avatar Cat being dead so that she would not get punished by him. Although he hated realizing this, he had to admit that she was quite a sly cat when it came to lying.

_If he IS alive, then my honor _will _be taken away for good. What do I do?_

**...**

Lightning flashed across the sky in a jagged pathway. Goldwing desperately tried to hang onto the drift wood and not be swept away. He reached out to his glider as it floated further away. The AirClan warrior gave a yowl of alarm as he was caught in a huge wave and plunged beneath the water. He swam back up to the surface and grabbed a hold of the drift wood with his claws.

This was it. The end of the Avatar Cat's reign in the world. He knew he had failed, and he had failed his friends in their quest.

"I can't do it...I just can't..." Goldwing rasped, choking on saltwater. "I failed."

"You haven't failed."

_All the things that you can change_

_There's a meaning in everything_

_And you will find all you need_

_There's so much to understand_

Suddenly, there was yet another flash of lightning as a figure appeared before him, sitting on the drift wood. It was Whitestorm, the FireClan Avatar Cat before him.

"White...Whitestorm?"

The white cat nodded and raised his only black paw, resting it on Goldwing's head. "Do not say you have failed, Goldwing. For you have not."

Goldwing struggled to get back onto the driftwood. "But Whitestorm, all the Clans think I'm dead again. They think I forsook them, and I'm losing the Great War. I let everyone down," he added sadly, lowering his head.

"No, Goldwing. Raise your head." When he did, Whitestorm meowed, "If anyone is to blame for the state of the world, it is I. I should have seen this Great War coming and prevented it, yet I did nothing to stop it. You became responsible for my problems and mistakes. But I also believe you are destined to redeem me and save the world and Clans."

This made Goldwing lower his head again; he was to fix mistakes Whitestorm made?

"You already saved the world before."

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_There's a better place_

_Somewhere out there_

A shaft of moonlight cast over Goldwing, turning his pelt pure white, even though the clouds did not clear away. Goldwing looked up to the sky to see the moon shining down on him, and a she-cat with long white fur padded down from the sky to sit next to Whitestorm. He recognized the she-cat as Moonfeather, Ashfeather's former mate.

"Really?" Goldwing asked her, standing up.

Moonfeather nodded, and so did Whitestorm, who faded away. The white she-cat meowed, "Yes. And I'm sure you can save the world again. But you cannot give up on the world and the Clans."

Goldwing looked away, feeling unsure about what she had told him. But she was right; he was being a mouse-hearted coward by running away when his friends needed him. He could not run away from his problems anymore.

"You're right," he told the beautiful WaterClan she-cat. "I'm not giving up just yet."

So he sat up, rose onto his haunches, and waved his forelegs around. He began to Bend a large wave of water behind him, pushing him forward. Goldwing bunched his muscles together and sprang upward, climbing on top of the drift wood and riding it like a surfboard. He waved his tail back and forth and to pick up speed.

Below him, Moonfeather had also sat up on her haunches and raised her forelegs, making the wave grow even higher. Goldwing was quite surprised; back when Moonfeather was alive, she did not show any Bending powers. But now that she was in StarClan and became the Moon Spirit, she had become a Bender.

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_Everything changes_

_You'll be amazed what you'll find_

_If you look through my eyes_

_You can do this, young cat, _a deep voice inside his head told him, the voice unrecognizable. _Do not give up on this world._

_Thank you, _Goldwing replied back. _Wherever you are._

**...**

Lava trails flowed from the top of the volcano and down into the sea past Goldwing. The golden tom had woken up on a volcanic island, the area smelling strongly of ashes and smoke. He was on a part of the volcanic island where the lava did not flow, thus making him safe from it. The drift wood was no longer by his side, which maybe meant that Moonfeather had helped him far enough.

_It's dawn, _Goldwing thought, seeing the sun rise slowly over the horizon. _And I'm making my promise today. Thank you, StarClan._

Suddenly, a familiar bird flew over towards Goldwing and gave a caw of joy. It was Tobias, who had flown over to him and landed on his shoulder, tickling him softly with his tail feathers. His master gave a purr as he rubbed the top of his hawk's head in return.

"Hey, Tobias," he purred as the hawk flew down to his master's side. "Why're you here?"

"Goldwing! You're okay!"

Goldwing looked up in time to see a silver blur barrel into him and throw him into a great cat hug. He smelled the familiar sweet scent of Silverheart as he looked into her eyes; they were filled with joy as she smiled warmly at him. Purring with her, Goldwing rubbed his cheek against hers in greeting, making their purring louder.

Behind them, Ashfeather, Nightfoot, and Archie had gathered around them to give them a group hug. Tobias flew back over to them and joined in, making the cats purr and Archie rumble.

"You know..." Goldwing mewed, breaking away from them. "I still have a lot to do."

Silverheart smiled at him. "I know. You'll have us to help you."

Goldwing purred in reply, nodding gratefully.

Nightfoot nudged him happily on the shoulder, mewing, "You think you'd get your ass out of training just to come to FireClan, eh?"

"Yeah," the Avatar Cat replied, shuffling his paws in embarrassment. To Ashfeather, he asked, "Hey, what about the invasion plan?"

"We'll go join up with Emberstar and his warriors on the day of the eclipse," the dark gray tabby tom replied.

"Hey. What's that?"

Goldwing looked over to where Nightfoot was meowing at. The black-furred EarthClan warrior was pawing at his broken glider floating on the water; he felt sadness rush up inside him. He had lost one of the things he had inherited from his Clan.

Possibly feeling his emotions, Nightfoot mewed, "Oh...it's your glider" and picked it up. The two WaterClan cats gave him sympathetic glances at this as Nightfoot gently nudged the glider to Goldwing's paws.

But Goldwing merely shrugged and mewed, "It's okay. If a cat...mostly FireClan...saw this, it would give away my identity. You're right, Ashfeather. I think it'll be best if I hide myself from the world just a little bit more."

"We understand," Silverheart mewed, laying her nose on his shoulder.

Goldwing gently broke away from her grasp and accepted the staff Nightfoot gave to him before turning his back on his friends. Taking a deep breath at what he was going to do, he leapt onto a mound trickling lava and looked down into the burning lava pit. He knew what he had to do, but that would also mean saying good-bye to one of his beloved treasures. But he shook the thought away; ending the War was much more important.

So the golden AirClan warrior spun the glider above his head and slammed it into the lava end first before jumping away. He felt his heart break when he watched his beloved glider staff ignite and burn away until it was nothing more than a crisp.

His mission to save the world had once again begun.

_Take a look through my eyes..._

_**(To be continued...)**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: (As Aang wipes a tear from his eye) Aang? What's wrong?**

**Aang: (Trying to smile) Nothing much. I just got something in my eye, that's all.**

**Katara: Aang...you know you can tell us. We trust in you.**

**Aang: All right then. I was really upset that my glider had to burn, but it was for a reason. Besides that, I got a new glider now!**

**Katara: That's right. So anyways, that's the first episode of the third book done, right?**

**AvatarCat12: Yep. Now let's go on with the review and the preview for the next episode called The Bandana. (To the readers) Those who review the first chapter of this story will get virtual Goldwing dolls in his black stripe disguise. Flames are not allowed on here; they WILL be used to make S'Mores. We allow constructive criticism, but we don't allow harsh criticism.**

**Preview: Goldwing and his pack go into FireClan territory disguised as FireClan cats. An incident makes Goldwing realize that he is missing out on being a normal Clan cat. In the meantime, Bearclaw wants to talk to his uncle about what happened, but will he listen?**

**Katara: And he we don't own the song Look Through My Eyes. Phil Collins does.**

**All three: See ya next time!**


	2. The Bandana

**AvatarCat12: I don't think it'll hurt to make another episode of Avatar Cat. But in the meantime, I'll have to start working on that Avatar Cat Book 2 remake very soon. But anyways, here's one of my favorite episodes in the third season!**

**Katara: (Smirking) Is it because you think I looked sexy in my disguise? (Silence) Well...I didn't mean it like that.**

**Aang: Hey, it's all right, Katara. But you DID look pretty in that disguise of yours.**

**Katara: (Smiles as she kisses Aang) Thanks, Aang. You and Avatar Cat are so sweet!**

**AvatarCat12: Not only did that solve the first part of that question, but I also liked that secret dance party. You really DID do good dancing there, Aang!**

**Aang: (Blushes) Thanks, Avatar Cat. I guess I did have a lot of fun as a normal kid. I'll just go and say the disclaimer of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Mike DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own our series and Warrior Cats respectively. AvatarCat12 doesn't.**

**Summary: Goldwing and his pack go into FireClan territory disguised as FireClan cats. An incident makes Goldwing realize that he is missing out on being a normal Clan cat. In the meantime, Bearclaw wants to talk to his uncle about what happened, but will he listen?**

**Uploading Date: March 15, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Bandana_

Fitfully trying his best to sleep, Bearclaw tossed and turned about in his sleep. After a bit more of each, he woke up, shaking his fur to shake the sleep out of his eyes. He rose up from his nest and threw on a hooded cloak, quietly slipping out of his room and into the night. Bearclaw knew his way around the city quite well; it was surrounded by a large crater where a volcano used to be.

Slipping by an unguarded path over the crater's border, he made his way towards a prison tower embedded in the slope of another nearby volcano. He stopped in the prison courtyard and sniffed the air, hoping to find either prey or cats to be given advice to. But Bearclaw wanted to come here for advice from one cat and one cat only.

But as he stood in the prison courtyard, looking upward, a gray tom spotted him. "Who's there?" he growled, baring his teeth.

"Shit," Bearclaw cursed to himself. "Maybe next time."

He turned around on the spot and fled from the scene before the warrior could catch him. The dark tabby would have to wait for his chance until the sky grew dark again.

**...**

A mysterious cloud was sweeping rapidly over the water. As it flew over on one of the FireClan islands, voices emanated from it, voices that would bring FireClan warriors over to see it.

"Guys, I think I see a cave," Goldwing mewed, peering through the fog.

"Shh!" Ashfeather hissed, laying his tail on the Avatar Cat's mouth. "Not so loud!"

Goldwing and Silverheart exchanged smirks at this as they continued to Bend the clouds around them. This was the same technique they had both used when they were apprentices to save a town from a volcano.

As they landed, the cloud dispersed with a blast of AirBending to reveal the cats riding Archie. Ashfeather leaped down from the dragon and began a stealthy inspection. The dark gray tabby WaterClan tom would always perform an inspection whenever they landed somewhere that was FireClan, and it seemed to get rather tiresome.

Looking around, Ashfeather meowed, "Great job with the cloud disguise. But listen, Goldwing. Next time, let's disguise ourselves as a cloud that keeps its mouth shut."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want a puffin hearing us talk and turn us in," Nightfoot replied sarcastically.

"Hey, smartass! We're in our enemy's territory!" Ashfeather growled, flicking his tail towards a tiny group of feeding puffins. "Those are enemy puffins!"

One of the puffins that had heard him flew over to the WaterClan warrior and let out a squawk. In a flash, three other puffins flew over to the cats and perched on a rock Ashfeather was hiding behind. The first puffin began to squawk wistfully while the others followed suit. The three other cats began laughing and purring at this, but Ashfeather was not amused.

Nodding towards the cave, Goldwing padded towards it with the she-cats following. For some odd reason, Ashfeather lurked behind them and, before they reached the entrance, leaped over their heads to ward off some entirely imaginary threat. Peering suspiciously about, he dashed into the cave, followed by the rest of the pack.

_It's dark, _Goldwing remarked to himself. _But at least it's dry._

**(Author's Note: That was from the Disney movie Dinosaur, which I don't own.)**

"Well, this is it," Ashfeather told the pack. "This is how we'll be living until the invasion. Hiding in cave after cave...after cave...after cave," he finished, his head drooping with each repetition of the word.

Silverheart rolled her eyes. "We don't need to be living like bears. We just need new pelt disguises. Like Goldwing."

Goldwing nodded. "She's right. Blending in is actually better than hiding out. If we disguise ourselves as FireClan cats, we'll be just as safe as we would be while in a cave."

"And they have true food out there," Nightfoot added, leaping onto a clump of grass and scaring out cave frogs. "Who the hell would want to live in a cave and eat cave frogs?"

Tobias, who was riding on his owner's shoulder, flew over to the frogs and caught one in his beak, the frog's legs kicking. The four cats gave the red-tailed hawk looks of revulsion. No matter how much frogs cats ate, they would not eat them too much.

"We got outnumbered, little buddy," Ashfeather told the hawk. "Let's get some fur coloring to disguise our fur."

**...**

Silently as owls, the four warriors slunk over to where someone was painting rocks at the beach. They had used their tracking skills and their senses of smell to find the weird scent of paint to find the small camp. Buckets of fur coloring of different colors were lined up in a row like coconuts. Some buckets were big, some were small, and some were the size of their heads.

The four cats hid behind other rocks, observing this little scene, yet Goldwing felt guilty. He was about to do one of the things his elders told him not to do: steal. In the Warrior Code, it was very forbidden for Clan cats to steal prey or other things from another's territory. As the embodiment of the Warrior Code, he felt like he was breaking the rules way too many times.

"You know..." he mewed, feeling uneasy. "I'm starting to get second thoughts on this. I mean, that belongs to someone else..."

"I call the white bucket!" Silverheart called, her green eyes shining brightly. The silver she-cat leapt out from the rocks, grabbing a bucket of white fur coloring and racing away.

**(AvatarCat12: I put the green eyes part there on purpose. I felt like it was funny, especially after hearing funny comments on the Avatar Wikia.)**

**(Katara: You just **_**had**_** to mention my "brown eyes", didn't you?)**

Feeling a bit better at that daring move, Goldwing called, "Well, if it's to help us survive, then I call the ginger fur coloring!"

He dashed out from the rocks and picked up a bucket of orange fur coloring. Plunder ensued as the cats kept dashing back and forth to collect a few buckets of fur coloring. The attendant did not rise to chase them away, for that cat was busy sleeping. _Lazy furball! _Goldwing laughed to himself as he dashed away with a paintbrush or two.

After that was done, the four Clan cats split up to paint the fur coloring onto their fur. When Goldwing was done, he looked down into a puddle of water that was next to the rock he was behind. He now looked like a tiger: orange with black stripes and a white underbelly complete with a white muzzle. The only thing he kept was a tip of the white arrow stripe on his head, which he covered with a red bandana.

"There we go!" he purred, padding over to his friend. "Normal Clan cat!"

"Huh," Ashfeather commented, still admiring his new coal-black fur. "Interesting."

Nightfoot, who was now a gray she-cat with a white belly, looked down at her cat boots. "I was thinking I should wear boots, but I won't be able to see without my paws. So sorry 'bout this, boots!"

At this, she lifted her leg up in the air, took her paw out slightly, and shoved it back in hard. The paw burst out of the sole of the boots quite easily, popping out the sole with her foot and pushing it into Ashfeather's face. With that done while she finished the other paws, she sat up to admire her new footwear.

"Finally!" she muttered. "Shoes worthy for a blind EarthBending cat!"

"Hey, everyone." It was Silverheart who had spoken. "How do I look?"

**[AvatarCat12: (Smiling with Aang) This is why this is one of my favorite episodes.]**

**[Aang: (Smiles) Yeah...me too...]**

**[Katara: (Sighs with a slight smile) Boys...]**

Goldwing looked away from Nightfoot to see an amazing sight before him. Silverheart had just become a gorgeous FireClan beauty, covered in pure white fur with dark gray tabby stripes and a black-tipped tail. Sunshine was bathing her in a golden light, making her pelt turn an even better white with gold tinges. The small smile she gave Goldwing, which was modest and shy, made her look even more beautiful than ever.

The young Avatar Cat blushed when he saw her like this; he always loved it when she was in this kind of light. Anything like this would make her look even lovelier than usual. But he did notice something off-putting about her new FireClan disguise.

"Um...Silverheart?" Goldwing mewed. "You're still wearing your mother's necklace."

That was true. His crush was still wearing her blue fox-fang necklace, which was given to her by her mother Seamist before she died.

"Oh," Silverheart murmured, looking displeased and mildly sad about this. "They'll see it's a WaterClan thing, right?"

And to her sorrow, she removed it from her neck. Despite feeling sorry for her, Goldwing knew it was only until the invasion; then she would get to wear it again.

**...**

The four warrior cats had snuck into the nearest town and bought some accessories to go with their new disguises. When that was said and done, they snuck into an alley and began to add their new accessories to their new pelt colors. Silverheart was putting a new red badger-tooth necklace on her neck, Nightfoot was wearing a new braid on her head fur, and Ashfeather was putting on a red earring on his right ear.

As for Goldwing, he let Tobias get into a large bag and settle down, shuffling about for comfort. When that was done, the ginger tiger-striped tom turned towards his friends.

"I used to come to this place with my friend Blazepaw moons ago," he explained. "So everyone follow my lead and stay cool. Or as they say in FireClan...stay flamin'!"

He led the way out of the alley, the other three cats following him. When he came out of the alley, there was a cream cat tearing hungrily into a hare he had just caught.

"Greetings, my fellow Hotcat!" Goldwing purred. "How's the prey running?"

The cream-colored cat gave him a strange look. "Uh...good, I guess?"

A meow from up ahead told Goldwing that Ashfeather led the other two cats over to a butcher shop. The ginger tom felt queasy at getting near a place like this; according to his Clan's rules, it was forbidden to eat butchered meat. But knowing his meat-loving friend, Goldwing padded over to them, trying to ignore feeling sick.

When Goldwing went up to Ashfeather's side, he asked, "Why're we going to a butcher shop?"

"Aw, come on, little buddy!" Ashfeather insisted, rolling his eyes. "Every cat in FireClan eats butchered meat! Hell, even the _butchered meat_ eats the butchered meat!"

Grunting noises made the four cats turn to what it was. A large pink pig was chowing down on a large steak made from a cow, its flat snout sniffing everywhere. Making a grunt, the large animal began sniffing at a pile of fly-blown fish.

"Actually...you can go on ahead," Goldwing mewed. "I'll just catch a mouse on the street."

The three other cats nodded and padded inside. Once he was out in the middle of the street, Goldwing began to try and stalk a small mouse nibbling on the seed. But thanks to the bustling noises around them, the mouse was able to slip away into the crowd. Goldwing gave a huff and began providing friendly greetings to his new compatriots, "Hotcat" included. However, after saying it four times, the other cats were giving him confused looks.

_Wow. Things DO change after fourteen years._

"Hold it right there! We caught you now!"

Goldwing turned around with alarm as he saw three cats running towards him. One was a big gray tom, the second was a tortoiseshell tabby she-cat, and the third was a black-&-tan tom.

As they stopped, the big gray cat that had spoken growled, "It's over, you. We got you now."

"Who, me?" the Avatar Cat mewed in confusion.

"Can't it be more obvious? You don't belong here!" the gray cat snarled.

Goldwing lowered himself to the ground, looking up and giving the warriors a look a puppy would give to its mother. Did these warriors know he was the Avatar Cat already?

But the gray tom went on, "How about this? Why don't you take off your school robes the next time you play hooky?"

The Avatar Cat just chuckled nervously at this, for he had not expected this to come out of the warrior cat's mouth. He did not know that there was a FireClan school when he had hung out with Blazepaw moons ago. But before he could say anything else, he felt sharp teeth grab his scruff and pulled him away with a powerful force.

_Great StarClan! What next?_

**...**

After a few minutes' worth of walking, Goldwing was hauled over to a large building with a big statue of Darkstar at the front of it in a fountain. Goldwing supposed that it was the FireClan leader who had made this school, to ensure that future warriors were trained. He wanted to ask the other warriors if their leader had made this school, but he kept his mouth closed. If he spoke to them about it, they would perhaps tell him to shut up.

When they arrived at a door, Goldwing was pushed into a packed classroom. He and his new classmates stared at each other in mutual astonishment, as if an older cat had come to give them a lecture. The supposed teacher, a stern-looking dark ginger she-cat, narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ah...are you a fresh young mind ready for molding?" she asked, her voice crisp and strict.

"Yes, ma'am," Goldwing purred, thumping a forepaw against the side of his head. "So let the molding begin!"

The truant warriors nodded and began padding away. But just when they were going to leave, the teacher suddenly growled at Goldwing, "Wait. You're not from FireClan. You're obviously from one of the colonies," she added, eyeing him with a critical glare.

Relieved at not being suspected, Goldwing nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'm from the colonies of FireClan in EarthClan."

"Hmmm..." After eyeing him some more, the teacher sniffed, "Your manners are terrible. In our Clan, we _bow _to our elders. Like so," she meowed, sitting up on her haunches.

Then she bowed her head, closing her right forepaw, holding her left forepaw open and pointed upward so that the pad was perpendicular to her body. Then she brought the two paws together so that the proximal unit of her enfolded right index front toe just touched the base of her left pad, again vertically. The effect was of a small stylized flame.

Goldwing nodded and tried to repeat the salute, but he vaguely reversed paws and met his right pad with his entire left paw instead of just the index toe. The teacher tapped his paw with her ruling stick, obviously critical of his attempts.

Feeling out of place, Goldwing looked around for help. A brown tortoiseshell she-cat in the front row caught his eye and demonstrated the proper technique. Goldwing smiled gratefully at her, reversed his paws, and lowered one of his paws.

"Also," the teacher went on, not praising him by tapping his bandana with the ruling stick, "we do not wear head coverings while we are indoors."

"Um..." Goldwing muttered, trying to make up a story. "I got a scar from a badger while saving my younger brother. It's really embarrassing."

The teacher eyed him still, but she went on, "Very well. What is your name? Unless we can call you 'Uncouth Colony Slob?'"

Goldwing grinned. "Slob will do." But he realized how ridiculous that sounded. "Actually, my name is Blazepaw," he added, facing the class with a friendly smile.

**...**

After the day was over, the bell rung, signaling that school was out. Apprentices poured out the doors, cheering loudly about this day ending. Goldwing padded away from the other cats, feeling quite excited about attending this school. So this was what it had felt like to be a normal cat in the Clans.

"We made it through today, Tobias," Goldwing purred, talking to the hawk still in his bag. "And you know what? That was...kinda fun!"

"Don't let the principal catch you with that bird."

Goldwing's heart thumped with alarm as he turned to see who it was. But to his relief, it was the brown tortoiseshell she-cat he had gotten help from earlier. Her amber eyes were glowing with a gentle warmth, one he hadn't seen from other cats in FireClan.

But he gave a chuckle as he hid Tobias in his back with an innocent smile. "Uh...what bird?"

The brown tortoiseshell smiled and gave a soft laugh. "Hey, don't worry. I'm no tattletale. I'm Koipaw, by the way. And I like your bandana."

_Oh really? _Goldwing purred with amusement, smiling. He was just about to reply when he was suddenly bumped from behind by a tall light brown FireClan tomcat, who padded to Koipaw and sat beside her.

"Hey, Koipaw. You don't have to babysit the new apprentice," he sneered scornfully; despite being an apprentice, he looked close to being a warrior and he was taller than Goldwing.

"Wow," Goldwing mewed warmly, bowing his head to the FireClan tom. "You must be one of the popular cats I've heard of!"

The light brown tom meowed, "That's right. I'm Dustpaw. Now listen, _friend_...I know you're a colonist, so I'll say this slowly." He spoke carefully, getting in Goldwing's face as he did so, "Koipaw. Is. My. Mate. Don't you forget it, little smartass." He finished this off by poking the ginger tom in the chest with his foreclaw.

But then, Tobias began to stir and caw in a bored way in Goldwing's bag. The Avatar Cat just smoothed the bag down and smiled up at the frowning light brown tom. Dustpaw pointed his claws to his eyes and back at Goldwing, showing him to watch himself. Then he stalked away from him, Koipaw following him and looking over her shoulder at him.

"Nice meeting you! See ya next time!" Goldwing called after him.

"Great StarClan! That was amazing!" a gray tabby tom mewed, padding up to him. "He didn't beat you up! Not one bit!"

Goldwing shuffled his front paws modestly. "I guess I was lucky."

The gray tabby tom meowed, "Well anyways, my name's Birchpaw. And we're just on our way to play hide-and-explode. Wanna join us?"

"Sure!" Goldwing purred, racing after Birchpaw as he gathered other apprentices next to him.

**...**

When Goldwing got back to the roof above the cave entrance, he was laughing gladly to himself as he greeted Tobias at the entrance. He had felt alive when he played with the apprentices in their game of hide-and-explode. The Avatar Cat had his fur stained with soot and ashes from the game, but it was all worth it.

He slid down the roof of the cave they were resting at, landing at the entrance before padding inside. The other three warriors were busy eating some prey they had caught, but there was a small pile of fresh-kill near the campfire.

"Goldwing, there you are! Where have you been?" Silverheart asked him. "You had us worried sick about you!"

The tiger-striped tom gave a nervous chuckle. "Hehe...sorry about that. You see, I was invited by some apprentices to play with them after school."

Ashfeather's head shot up from his puffin as he squawked, looking stumped, "After WHAT?"

"Yeah," Goldwing replied. "I got enrolled in a FireClan school, and I'm going back tomorrow."

"Enrolled in WHAT?" his friend yelled, his eyes bugging out. Then with that done, he fell to the ground, briefly unconscious.

Goldwing rolled his eyes, faintly amused by this. Apparently, things never seemed to change.

**...**

Looking around, Bearclaw checked to see where danger was coming from; the scent of embers told him that the guard from the night before was stalking around. As he hid around the corner, the gray tom from the night before heard the footsteps and spun around, leveling his spear and letting his claws slide out.

"You again? Stay where you are!" he spat.

Bearclaw padded out from behind the corner and faced the gray warrior cat. He let his hood fall off, revealing his telltale scar.

The gray tom gaped at him with awe. "B-Bearclaw? Deputy of FireClan? What the hell are you doing here?"

With a growl, Bearclaw pounced at the warrior and pinned him to the ground, his paw on his throat. The tom did not bother to get up, but he was still staring up at the younger warrior with shock in his eyes.

"Now listen here," he hissed, his voice cheekily menacing. "I'm just going in for a visit, all right? Make sure you guard this area, and make sure no one knows about this."

The warrior nodded and, as he was released, unlocked the cell to where Bearclaw was going into. Nodding towards the gray tom, Bearclaw pushed his way inside the cell and looked around him.

The cell was bisected by a wall of bars so that one half was accessible from the door and the other half served as a cage. And there was his uncle Irontail; the old gray tabby tom looked utterly miserable with unkempt fur. He was sitting on a mat, facing the wall to the right of the cell door as Bearclaw entered it. Irontail's orange eyes widened a bit with surprise.

"Uncle Irontail?" Bearclaw mewed, padding up to the bars.

But to his dismay, the usually jolly Irontail gave him a scowl and turned away from him. He did not even say a word to him, not a hello back or anything.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Goldwing, I just wanna be a good guy here, be mature, and not shoot down ideas," Ashfeather mewed as the four warriors sat around the fire. "But...this is a bad idea."

"Yeah, we got our disguises already," Nightfoot added, raising her brow. "What do you wanna go to school for?"

Stopping the pacing around, Goldwing replied, "Every minute I'm in that classroom, I learn new things about FireClan. I already have a picture of Darkstar...and I made a picture of him out of macaroni!" he added.

He fished out two pictures from his bag. One was an average picture of Darkstar, and the other was his created masterpiece.

Ashfeather merely nodded. "Hmmm...it looks nice. But it's still dangerous!"

"Oh, really?" Goldwing made a fake whine; he knew what would make him change his mind. "I guess we'll never find out about the secret river then. It goes right to Darkstar's palace. We were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow...but if you insist..."

This took the black-furred warrior by surprise, for he had not expected this. Goldwing knew that Ashfeather loved finding out about secret places and new battle strategies. It took quite a bit for him to decide on what to do about it.

"Hmmm...I AM a fan of secret rivers," he mewed. Seeing the hopeful look on his face, he sighed and meowed, "Fine. It won't hurt to stay for a few more days."

Goldwing leapt up for joy, spun around in the air like a drill, and yowled, "Yeah! Flame on, Hotcat!" Then, giving his friends a mew of thanks, he ran off towards the exit of the cave.

Ashfeather shared a confused look with Silverheart. "Flame On? What does that mean?"

His sister merely shrugged, making a small noise in her throat in the process.

**...**

Bearclaw paced in front of the bars of his uncle's cell, wondering what to tell Irontail. Making up his mind, he mewed, "You brought this all on yourself. We could have returned together. You could've been a hero to our Clan!"

Irontail turned further away from his nephew in reply.

"You have no right to judge me, Uncle Irontail," Bearclaw went on. "I did what I needed to do in BoulderClan, and you're a mouse-brained fool for not joining me."

But Irontail was silent.

Bearclaw glared at him. "You're not gonna say anything?" Angry, he kicked a stool away from him and Bended a blast of fire at the wall, snarling, "Rarr! You're a crazy old cat! You're crazy, and if you weren't in prison, you'd be sleeping in the sewers!"

Still, Irontail did not reply; this was clearly something that was wasting his valuable time. So Bearclaw turned around and began stalking away, the hairs on his tabby coat bristling. He knew he was being harsh, but his uncle had to realize that they were home.

However, before he left, he could hear a sigh of sorrow come from Irontail's throat.

**...**

When the sun rose the next morning, Goldwing had groomed himself quickly to get to school. Silverheart and Ashfeather still looked troubled about this, but they realized that their Avatar Cat friend just wanted to live life through the eyes of a normal cat. Nightfoot still felt skeptical about Goldwing attending school, but he did not let her remarks bother him.

He arrived quickly into the classroom just when the dark ginger teacher came in. She looked at them with a stern eye before going on.

"Good morning, class," she started. "First thing today: recite the FireClan pledge of allegiance."

They turned to the large portrait of Darkstar that conquered the room's rear wall, bowed down FireClan style, and begin reciting. Goldwing stood up clumsily, a few heartbeats behind the other apprentices, and did his best to follow along.

The apprentices were saying, "I give to the Clan my life. With my paws, I fight for our leader Darkstar and his forefathers before him."

"Uh, Darkstar...forefathers..." Goldwing tried to meow.

"I seek ways to better my Clan with my mind," the class droned on. "And with my tail..."

Desperately, Goldwing tried to meow "FireBenders...Darkstar..." But after that, it simply turned to "Blah, blah, blah, blah."

Around him, the other apprentices stopped reciting and helplessly giggled at what he was saying. The teacher, however, was far from amused. Instead, she glared at the apprentices until they sat back down before rising and striking the open book before her with her ruling stick for emphasis.

When they fell quiet, she growled, "Since you think it's hilarious to mock our national oath and our leader, we shall begin a pop quiz on our Great March Of Progress."

The class groaned, but they took out their supplies, ready for the quiz.

"Question one: what year did Shadowstar battle the AirClan army?"

Goldwing could feel his tail bristle underneath his school robes. Last time he checked, AirClan did not have an army; they were a pacifist Clan and did not believe in senseless fighting. So he raised his forepaw, making him be called on to answer the question.

He rose to his paws and mewed, "Is this a trick question? AirClan didn't have an army or any military. Shadowstar attacked them with ambush."

But the class stared at him with open mouths, shocked at what he said. Goldwing supposed that to them, this was just shameless desecration.

"I don't know how _you _could possibly know more than our national history books, Blazepaw," the dark orange she-cat meowed at him, sounding agitated. "Unless YOU were there fourteen years ago?"

"Uh...I'll write my guess down, actually," Goldwing mewed, thinking better of arguing and getting to work.

**...**

After history class was band practice in a different classroom. The music teacher, a fat tabby cat, tapped his stand, and the small orchestra began playing. Goldwing, armed with a big bronze tuba horn, paused a few moments to draw in a deep breath, and launched an active blast of something resembling music, maniacally dancing in place as he did so.

But to his mild dismay, the rest of the class stopped playing, dumbfounded. Even the music teacher looked confused at what he was doing.

"Blazepaw? What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Goldwing stopped playing and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hehe...I know. I must be one bad tuba player."

The fat tabby shook his head. "No, not that. I meant that racket your paws are making. Do you have a nervous disorder?"

"I was just doing a little dance," Goldwing replied. "Do you do dances here in your homeland?"

"Not really," Birchpaw mewed, looking a bit awkward.

"Dancing is not helpful to a proper learning environment," the music teacher explained, going over to the window. "Young cats must have order and rigid discipline."

Goldwing felt confused about that; to him, cats should choose which path they could follow. So he added, "But what about expressing yourself?"

The music teacher walked back to his stand, sighing, "I know we're so moved by our love for our Clan that we can't control our own bodies sometimes." Overcome with emotion, he clapped his paws to his face and reconsidered. "Very well. If you must, the next time the urge hits you, you may march in place quietly."

The orchestra continued its play, Goldwing marching quietly as directed but clearly unhappy. It wasn't fair that one should not be able to express himself or herself. It was like trapping a bird even though it would be time for migrating. _Surely being in this school is robbing these cats out of expressing themselves?_ he thought.

But what was Goldwing to do with this school of apprentices? Teach them to defy traditions? He knew following traditions was a good thing, but to him, doing the right thing was even more important.

**...**

It appeared to be recess or lunch, for cats were scattered about the schoolyard. As Goldwing left the school building and entered the school grounds, the cats spotted him and began whispering; he realized he must have caused a sensation.

Goldwing was about to say something to them, which was a greeting, when a meow made him stop. It was Koipaw, who was padding up to him with her cheeks turning red.

"Hey, Blazepaw," the brown tortoiseshell she-cat mewed. "You know that crazy dance you were doing in band class? I really liked it."

"Thanks, Koipaw," the Avatar Cat purred back. "If you'd like, I can show you again."

Suddenly, he let out a growl of pain as a blast of fire claws struck him at the back of his head. Goldwing whipped around to glare at his attacker; it turned out to be Dustpaw, the light brown tom he met earlier. But Dustpaw wasn't smiling in a pretend way now. Instead, he looked like he was going to murder him.

"What'd you just say, colony shit?" he snapped. "You were gonna show something to her?"

"Look, it's just a few dance moves," Goldwing meowed as Dustpaw stalked nearer. "What's the big deal, Dustpaw?"

Dustpaw's lips were pulled back to reveal sharp white fang as he snarled, "No one shows my mate anything, especially moves."

Koipaw quickly pushed her way between them, meowing, "Dustpaw, stop it. He's not hurting me in any way!"

"Stay out of it!" Dustpaw growled, making her step away from him. "It's time I taught that little piece of crow-food a lesson or two!"

Turning back to Goldwing, he let out a screech and flew at him. Prepared for the hit, Goldwing nimbly stepped out of the way, resulting in the light brown tom skidding to a halt. Thanks to his AirClan blood and skills, he could be able to dodge large opponents easier than other cats.

For the next few seconds, Dustpaw tried to land a blow on Goldwing, who was too quick and lean to be caught. One time during their fight, the tiger-striped cat had gotten behind Dustpaw and dodged every blow his rival threw at him. At last, Dustpaw was propelled by his own force onto the ground, grunting in pain.

At this unfavorable crisis, the ginger principal entered the scene and glared down at Goldwing. Dustpaw, in the meantime, was sniveling...though Goldwing could tell it was just made up. The principal seemed to naturally assume that Goldwing was bullying Dustpaw rather than the other way around.

"Picking fights on your second day here, eh?" the ginger tom growled. "We shall have a talk on how to discuss your punishment. Bring your parents to my office after school."

"My parents?" Goldwing mewed in shock.

The ginger tom growled "Don't be late" before stalking away from him. Dustpaw followed him, aiming a sneering simper in Goldwing's direction. Goldwing glared after him, and, much to his surprise, so did Koipaw.

Despite being grateful for Koipaw for believing him, Goldwing still felt troubled at what had just happened. He was being in trouble for something another cat had done. This was just like what had happened at Laurel Town, where he was accused of killing a cat when it was Avatar Cat Heavyrose who had done it.

But just when he felt like things couldn't get worse, he got an idea. This was enough to make him smile slightly to himself.

**...**

"Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs..."

Goldwing was in the office of the principal, who was sitting in front of a portrait of Darkstar. Silverheart and Ashfeather had come along with him, hearing of this idea and deciding to help him out. Ashfeather had his fur dyed to ginger with a brown fake beard-and-mustache disguise, adding that it made him look good. And Silverheart had her fur dyed to brown tabby, blankets covering her body and stuffed to mimic pregnancy.

It was Ashfeather who spoke up, "Fire! Mr. Wang Fire! And this is my mate, Sapphire."

"Sapphire Fire. Nice to meet you," Silverheart purred, smoothing her forepaw over her pretend swollen belly.

The principal looked at the two siblings doubtfully. "Mr. and Mrs...Fire, your son had just been enrolled here for two days, and he's already causing trouble in this school. He's argued with his history teacher, disturbed music class, and beat up my star pupil."

Silverheart let out a pretend gasp of shock. "Oh my! That doesn't sound like our Blazepaw!"

"That's what any mother would say," the principal replied. "However, you're getting a warning from me. If he misbehaves one more time, I'll have him sent to reform school. By which I mean the coal mines. You understand?"

"Don't you worry none, Mr. Principal, sir!" Ashfeather meowed with his fake thick accent. "I'll make sure my son here doesn't forget his lesson." To Goldwing, he growled, "Young tomcat, you'll get the punishment of a lifetime when we get home!"

The principal replied with an air of quiet sadism, "That's what I like to hear."

Then the three young warriors rose to their paws and padded out of the room. Ashfeather was ahead of them, swaggering proudly; it appeared that the role of an overbearing father seemed to suit him well. Goldwing even had to admit that he was doing a good job at this.

_Is he going to be like that when he and Echo have kits of their own? _he wondered, thinking of Ashfeather's mate from the Tribe of Heavy Roses. _I just hope he doesn't read my mind about this._

**...**

So far that day, the day was really nice for Bearclaw and Rose. The two cats had just hunted alongside each other all day, and they even played around a bit at the small lake beside the volcano. Bearclaw had never felt like this towards any other she-cat, not even any dates he had at BoulderClan. With Rose by his side, he felt better after the stress of his uncle not speaking to him any longer.

The two FireClan cats had stopped at a sheltered little upland on the rim of the royal volcano. They were enjoying eating their catch and a chance to be together in the sunset.

"Orange is such an awful color, you know?" Rose purred. She was referring to the sunset.

Bearclaw chuckled at this. "Yeah. But you're really beautiful when you hate the world."

Rose purred as she rubbed her nose against his black ear. "Thanks. I don't hate you, Bearclaw."

"I don't hate you too, Rose," Bearclaw purred.

As their faces got closer, their muzzles brushed together as they embraced and purred at the same time. It felt right...to be like this...

"Excuse me."

Quickly, Bearclaw and his mate looked up to see who had disturbed them. It was Frostfire, who meowed, "Bearclaw, I'd like a word with you if you don't mind."

Bearclaw sighed. "Frostfire, can you leave us alone for a bit? We're busy here." He finished this while he and Rose continued to embrace each other.

However, as he had begun grooming her lean face, Frostfire meowed, "Rose, Aya need your help in untangling her tail from a branch."

"Huh. Sounds serious," Rose meowed complaisantly. "All right, I'll go check."

The dark tortoiseshell she-cat got up to her paws and began to pad away. Then, to Bearclaw's surprise, Rose shot Frostfire a swift poisonous glare behind her back before going away. This confused Bearclaw, for he was sure that Rose and Frostfire were friends. But why would she get angry at her all of a sudden?

_Maybe it's because Frostfire had to spoil this day for us._

"I heard you went to visit Uncle Chunky in the prison tower," Frostfire began to meow.

_What? _Bearclaw roared to up furiously, he spat, "That damn guard told you! After I told him to keep his mouth shut!"

Frostfire shook her head smugly. "No. You just told me."

"Okay. You caught me there," the large dark tabby sighed, sitting down. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, really," Frostfire meowed caringly. "I'm just looking out for you, believe it or not. We're siblings, remember? If anyone finds out you've tried to see Uncle in prison, they might think you might be plotting something. Just be careful, dum-dum."

The black she-cat flicked her brother in the face with her tail before padding away.

Bearclaw stared suspiciously after her, confused at what she was saying. There was no way he would plot with a traitor to overthrow his Clan. He had worked his hardest to become a good warrior in his father's eyes, and he finally had become the deputy without having an apprentice. Darkstar had abolished that law even after he had an apprentice of his own after he became the leader.

_But why would she think I was plotting something with Uncle? Does she think I'm being disloyal to my Clan?_

**...**

"All right, that's it! No more school for you, young cat!"

Goldwing stood there wide-eyed with shock and confusion as Ashfeather yowled in his face in one of his rants. The disguised WaterClan tom finished the rant by straightening up and stroking his false mustache and beard impressively.

"I'm not ready to leave yet," Goldwing retorted. "For once in my life, I'm having fun being a normal cat. And I now know what it REALLY means to be a cat. You don't know what it's like, Ashfeather. You're normal all the time!"

Nightfoot, who was sitting behind Ashfeather, laughed mockingly, "Ha ha!"

Ashfeather turned around to glare at her.

Seizing this great chance, Goldwing added, "Look, those apprentices are the future of FireClan. They are also future warriors who will make their Clan proud of them. So we should show them a little taste of freedom if we want to change them for the better?"

"Well, what could you possibly do for a Clan of depraved little FireClan bastards?" Ashfeather asked, turning to him with confusion.

"Well..." the tiger-striped cat mewed, making a little skipping dance with his paws. "I say we throw them...a secret dance party!"

The three other cats gazed at him in shock, looking as if he had suggested going into a volcano. Silverheart's blue eyes were wide with shock while Nightfoot sat there with her jaws wide agape. Ashfeather's eyes bugged out a bit from what he had heard.

Then, at last recovering, he finally meowed with his thick accent, "Go to your room!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldwing gazed around him in pride as he and his friends worked on decorating the cave. Just behind him, Nightfoot was busy Bending a bandstand from the cave floor. Silverheart was just a bit away from her and Bending some liquid into an EarthBended bowl. And Ashfeather was placing some candles around the bandstand, looking uneasy.

But Goldwing didn't mind. _This night is for everyone, not just us._

"I can't believe we're hosting a dance party!" Ashfeather grumbled. "No offense, but it sounds so... stupid."

"Don't think of it as a dance party," Goldwing purred. "Think of it as a cultural celebration in fancy footwork!" To prove it, he stood up on his hind paws and started hopping up and down like a dog begging for a treat.

**(Author's Note: Since this is a FanFic about cats, that quote was in honor of Garfield.)**

Then he smelled them. By the scents of fire and ashes in the air, he could tell that the cats from the school had arrived at last. Nightfoot seemed to sense them too, for she lifted her muzzle in the air to sniff them out and felt the ground with her paws.

Finally, she lowered her head and meowed, "Everyone stop Bending! They're getting closer!"

Goldwing got down to all four paws and raced over to Archie, who looked up at him from eating his turkey. When he started to gently shove the Asian Lung dragon away, Archie let out some low groans of protest.

"Sorry, Archie. I think you should sit in the back until it's over," Goldwing mewed. As Archie grumbled and shuffled into a tunnel at the back of the cave, his owner meowed, "I know, you've got fancier feet than us...and they're huge too!"

**...**

Minutes later, all of the apprentices (except Dustpaw) had arrived into the cave, confused at what they had seen around them. The band class had also arrived and started to play various musical instruments on the bandstand. And just in time, Goldwing had disguised himself in his school form to make sure no one saw his arrows.

Goldwing leapt in front of them exultantly and, facing them, announced, "Cats of FireClan! I present to you...the Flame On Cats!" Partly to himself, he purred, "Yep, I think that should get their blood pumping!"

But to his mild dismay, it hadn't. The apprentices were still huddled together, looking uncertain.

"So what do we do now?" Birchpaw was the first to speak.

"This is when you start dancing!" Goldwing replied.

But then, a young fat brown tom crouched low to the ground and covered his face, making him look like a bear. Then he mewed, "I don't want my parents to see me dancing in a cave."

"Yeah! What if someone sees us?" a jumpy black tom mewed, looking from left to right.

Goldwing rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh shit, where do we begin? Look, dancing isn't a thing you think about. It's creativity that no one can take away from you. Not in many moons."

Birchpaw spoke up, "Maybe it was in the colonies, Blazepaw. But not here."

"Of course you guys can!" Goldwing insisted. "You have for generations, and so have your kin before you. Believe it or not, I know several classic FireClan dances. Fourteen years ago, this was known as the Tiger Pounce."

He began to leap around like he was a gazelle before spinning around in a circle. Then he reared up onto his hind legs so that the cats could see him, looking as great as a tiger. The apprentices all gaped at him in admiration and amazement.

When he stopped, Goldwing went on, "And this next move is called the Camel Strut."

He hopped on two paws at a time like a camel walking through the desert, bouncing on one hind paw as he passed a forepaw before his face. He turned a somersault through the air and landed in front of two she-cats, who giggled and blushed at the same time. He somersaulted backwards and landed expertly on one back paw, bowing. The apprentices were amazed.

Not far away from the dancing, Silverheart and Nightfoot were sitting side by side. They were watching with mild interest as Goldwing demonstrated his dancing moves with their drinks in between their forepaws.

"Who knew Twinkletoes was that good at dancing?" Nightfoot mewed to her former mentor. She finished this off by lapping up several sips of her drink.

Unknowingly to her or Goldwing, Silverheart looked around to smile with interest at the tiger-striped tom. She seemed to be interested in his dancing, and she looked like she wanted to go ahead and join along.

**...**

The scent of the food Bearclaw was carrying almost made him drop the food and eat it. But he fought the urges, for he was to not eat the food he was carrying. Besides, he was a warrior; he could catch a mouse or even a rabbit to feast on. And one rule in the Warrior Code said that a warrior must feed the Clan before his own.

Bearclaw made it to the prison Irontail was in. The fat gray tabby tom still had his back turned on him and seemed to have lost his weight, for there was a pile of refused food sitting in a corner.

"Uncle?" Bearclaw mewed, slipping the food tray under the bars. "I brought you some rabbit meat; I know it's not your favorite kind of prey, but it beats prison food."

Irontail did not reply.

Summoning his courage on what to say, Bearclaw sighed and explained, "Fine. I admit it. I have everything I want, but it's not how I think it would be. The truth is, I need your advice. I think the Avatar Cat is still alive. I know he's out there. I'm losing my mind! Please, Uncle!" he went on, his voice growing desperate. "I feel so confused! I need your help!"

But Irontail did not speak.

_The old bastard! He's STILL not speaking! _Enraged, he stood up and snarled, "Fine! Just forget it! I'll solve this on my own! Wither away in here for all I care!"

And with that, he stalked out the door. But without him seeing, a tear had just rolled down his weakened uncle's cheek as he bowed his head.

**...**

Back at AvatarClan's cave, Goldwing was happy to see the other cats looking up eagerly at him. He somersaulted through the air and landed in front of Koipaw, who looked away bashfully. For a moment, he started to feel some kind of emotion towards the FireClan she-cat. But he knew he would never fall for her, for if he revealed himself, she would not be his friend anymore.

Plus, he would always love Silverheart. Not any other she-cat.

A tabby friend nudged Koipaw, and the tortoiseshell she-cat looked up at Goldwing. The Avatar Cat gently led her out of the crowd, and she blushed as he led her out to the dance floor.

"Here we go, Koipaw," he told her. "This is how they do it at the ballroom of BoulderClan."

He sat up on his thighs and passed his forelegs in a heaving motion across his chest, stepping from side to side as he did so. Koipaw imitated him.

"Wow," Ashfeather was saying as he and Silverheart sat side-by-side. "They look awesome out there together."

Silverheart looked away from the dance dismissively, muttering, "Eh...if you say so." But she did steal a jealous glance over at the two dancing cats.

Very slowly, the other cats from the school started to join in. The crowd was finally loosening up for once in their lives.

"Yeah, that's it!" Goldwing cheered. "That there is the sound of happy feet! Now go with it, everyone! Freestyle!"

At the sound of "happy feet", several penguins from the beach started waddling into the cave and started dancing. Goldwing was confused about this at first, but he decided it would be fun to let the cats have the penguins dance along with them. One cat even did the freestyle thing, spinning around on the ground like he was dodging an attack.

Ashfeather and Nightfoot joined in with the dancing, but one cat did not. Goldwing looked over to see who hadn't danced yet: Silverheart. The pretty white tabby she-cat was sitting to the side, looking down at her forepaws. Goldwing padded over to her and tried to nudge her to her paws.

"I don't know, Goldwing," she mewed, shuffling her forepaws. "I just ate this frog, and it seems to make me feel ill...besides, I don't know how to dance..."

"Come on," Goldwing purred masterfully. "Join me."

He led her out to the center of the floor and whispered in her ear, making her blush. They stood up on their hind legs, stretched out their forelegs, and touched paws, circling around the axis thus formed.

As the two spun around slowly, Silverheart mewed, "Goldwing...everyone's watching."

Goldwing smiled at her. "Don't worry. It's just you and me now."

Silverheart looked deep into her friend's eyes, blushing as she gave him a confident and entrancing smile. They began a very elegant dance that seemed to be based off of an ancient dance called capoeira, spinning through the air, crouching, and kicking over one another's heads. The cats and penguins stopped dancing and watched them, entranced by this magnificent scene.

When they stopped and stood up, Goldwing realized that he and Silverheart were touching noses, panting slightly. This had felt great dancing with her; he could tell that this was her first time doing so. But what mattered now was being by her side, dancing the night away in the dance party he and his friends were hosting.

Seeing the dance, all the apprentices and penguins were starting to dance again. Goldwing was proud of what he and Silverheart had done; this was encouraging them to express themselves even more.

"This is amazing!" the fat brown tom was cheering as he danced. "It feels like my worries have disappeared into thin air!"

But angry yowls made him hide his face behind his paws again, whimpering, "And...they're back again."

The apprentices stopped their dancing and turned around...except Goldwing. The angry yowls belonged to the principal of the school, followed by two truant warriors and Dustpaw. Dustpaw was basking in the glory of having reported this to the warriors before they split up. But when Goldwing turned around in time, he stopped dancing and froze in fear. The penguins, in the meantime, squawked in fear and waddled quickly out of the cave, not stopping for anything.

"That's the cat!" the orange principal snarled. "The tiger cat with the bandana!"

At this, the two truant warriors made a beeline towards Goldwing, who gulped and dove into the crowd. He followed his friends through the crowd, a warrior following close behind. The crowd parted in front of the warrior to reveal a lone figure with his back turned to him, tiger-striped and wearing a bandana.

Growling the warrior leapt at him, pinned him down, and flipped him over like a turtle. But to Goldwing's amazement, it turned out to be Birchpaw, who had a tiger pelt over his own pelt.

"Hey there!" the gray tabby purred. "You looking for me?"

The orange principal spat, "That's not him! He's here somewhere! He must not leave this cave!"

The warriors darted through the crowd, the principal joining them. Bandanas and tiger pelts were multiplying everywhere they saw. One by one, the warriors snagged them, only to discover one wide-eyed innocent face after another.

"Can we help you?" Koipaw mewed to Dustpaw, for she had joined in the fun.

"Hey!"

"How you doing?"

"Looking for someone?"

The warriors, perplexed, backed into a small knot in the middle of the cave as all the apprentices encircled them. By now, the entire class had morphed into imitations of Goldwing, who had been watching them with amusement.

"Who you looking for?"

"Need something?" Birchpaw added.

"Hey, over here!"

Back at the back of the cave, AvatarClan were escaping down the tunnel Archie hid in earlier. Goldwing, who was the last one out, stopped and turned back for a moment. Birchpaw, who was at the edge of the crowd, turned to his new friend and winked at him. Goldwing bowed quickly to him FireClan style and ran down the tunnel. He made two walls of rock abruptly slam across the tunnel's entrance, sealing it off.

He had failed to see the look of shock on Birchpaw's face. He seemed to understand that his new friend was a despised EarthBender. After hearing the principal scolding his warriors for goofing off, Goldwing purred and raced after his friends.

**...**

AvatarClan was now safe in Archie's saddle as the dragon flew off, his legs paddling in the air. But Goldwing saw that Ashfeather's fake beard and mustache were still there. He wondered why he had not taken them off yet when he still had his black pelt.

"Ashfeather, we're safe now," Silverheart told her brother. "You can take those off now."

"But I can't," Ashfeather meowed smugly. "They're glued forever to my face." He finished this by stroking his fake beard and mustache, looking pleased with himself.

Goldwing rolled his eyes at that.

"That was really awesome there, Happy Feet!" Nightfoot purred, looking amused. "I think you DID help those cats! You taught them to be free."

This made Goldwing reply, "I don't know about that. It was just a dance party, that's all."

"Well, that was one hell of a dance party, Goldwing," Silverheart purred, leaning over to him and licking his left cheek.

Goldwing felt his skin go hot under his fur once again. This was the third time his crush had ever licked him on the cheek like that. He supposed that after dancing with him, she probably liked him back.

_I hope Ashfeather doesn't notice that._

But Ashfeather was rocking lazily back and forth and clapping his forepaws slowly like a stoned beatnik. "Flame on, brother. Flame on."

All three cats purred at what he was doing.

**...**

Bearclaw slipped down from the wall into seedy industrial quarter somewhere in FireClan. Tall smokestacks clouded the night sky, forcing birds to fly around it. He looked down into a small yard bisected by railroad tracks and slipped into the middle of the yard. Lifting his nose in the air, Bearclaw tried to find the cat he was supposed to look for. But he did not have to wait for that long.

His ears spun around, taking in the sound of a clanking sound. Then he saw them: two massive paws, one of them metal and each the size of rabbits, stomped into view to frame the moonlight. Bearclaw had to look up at the newcomer, since this cat was bigger than any cat in FireClan.

_He should be good. He's a powerful warrior, last time I heard._

Out loud, he meowed, "Were you followed?"

The shadowed head shook sideways.

"Good," Bearclaw hissed before going on. "I've heard tales about you, my friend. They say that you're really good at what you do for a living. And what's even better than that is your ability to hide secrets." His voice turned to a snarl as he went on, "The Avatar Cat is still out there, for he's still alive. I want you to find him...and kill him."

The big cat let out a low growl, his growl sounding more tiger than cat. And when he stepped out of the shadows, Bearclaw could understand why this cat was the biggest in FireClan.

Instead of a normal cat, the cat before him was a tiger. His black stripes shone like silver on his orange pelt, and his amber eyes gleamed in the dark. What was even more amazing was his legs: his left hind leg and right foreleg were made entirely of metal. And the strangest thing about him was the third eye in the center of his forehead.

And answering Bearclaw's request, the tiger growled again and nodded.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat12: I hope everyone likes this new chapter here! This episode is also a tribute to Happy Feet (which I do not own), because of the times "happy feet" was mentioned. That, and dancing penguins had waddled into the episode.**

**Aang: I liked those penguins. THEY knew how to throw a big dance party!**

**Katara: Actually, I know who's the better dancer here. (Kisses Aang on the cheek before going on) And those penguins are so cute! Especially Mumble's son.**

**AvatarCat12: Me too. But anyways, who should say the review and the preview for the next episode? It's called The Tortoiseshell Angel.**

**Aang: I will! (To the readers) Those who review this chapter will join us in the comment stuff at the start and end of next chapter. We don't allow flames on here; they WILL be used to make S'Mores. We DO allow constructive criticism, but please don't make it too harsh, okay?**

**Preview: AvatarClan has arrived at a dirty river, where the cats have grown sick from starvation and sickness. Silverheart feels concerned for them, and when she hears of a tale of an ancient medicine cat, will she learn to be a medicine cat in return?**

**All three: See ya next time!**


	3. The Tortoiseshell Angel

**AvatarCat12: I know it's been quite a while since I uploaded this story, so I'm gonna get back on track. And I'm sorry I haven't been able to upload anything yet.**

**Katara: Let me guess. You got distracted by stuff as usual.**

**AvatarCat12: Yep. You know me well, Katara. You know that?**

**Aang: Just like she knows me. Right, sweetie? (Kisses her on the cheek)**

**Katara: (Smiles) That's right, sweetie. (Kisses him back)**

**AvatarCat12: Just be thankful Sokka isn't here right now. He'd be complaining of oogies before you can say mouse. Anyways, who wants to say the disclaimer?**

**Aang: I will!**

**Disclaimer: Bryke and the four Erin Hunters own all rights to Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats. AvatarCat12 is blending them together for other's enjoyment.**

**Summary: AvatarClan has arrived at a dirty river, where the cats have grown sick from starvation and sickness. Silverheart feels concerned for them, and when she hears of a tale of an ancient medicine cat, will she learn to be a medicine cat in return?**

**Uploading Date: April 5, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Tortoiseshell Angel_

Silverheart had to keep herself from gagging as she watched Goldwing swim. Actually, nothing was wrong at all with him swimming, but it was the water he was swimming in that was wrong. In place of the clear blue water, there was greenish-brown sludge everywhere. Tobias had joined his owner, flying above the water and skimming the surface with the tips of his wings.

_He's gonna soil his feathers, _Silverheart guessed. She knew how harmful stuff like that was to a bird's feathers. Oil spills and other disasters had spoiled the feathers of sea birds like seagulls back when Twolegs were alive.

"Tobias! Oh Tobias!" Goldwing mewed, popping his head out of the sludge. He ducked under the water just as Tobias landed on top of his head. Goldwing popped his head back up and purred, "Heh-heh, you found me, buddy!"

It seemed to finally dawn on him that he was swimming in toxic filth. He leapt up into the saddle and meowed, "I think this river's polluted."

He Bended the goop off himself, sliming the rest of the pack in the process. Silverheart gave a small sigh at this; she had spent most of the previous day grooming her new white tabby fur to perfection. Yet another blast of air got everyone clean.

"Damn. So that's why I can't catch a fish around here. Normally, my fishing skills are…off the hook!" Ashfeather laughed. "Get it? Like a fishing hook? Eh?"

No one laughed. There was the sound of a cricket chirping...with a bird chirping. Either way, the joke was nothing more than a failure. Nightfoot seemed to be the first cat to even say it.

"It's a shame your skills aren't _on _the hook," the gray she-cat muttered.

Her joke was more successful. Everyone except Ashfeather laughed; the black warrior just gave them a scowl. But despite the scowl, he said nothing.

"We'll have to stop at somewhere else for food," Silverheart mewed, watching a dead fish float past Archie as she laid out a scroll in front of them. "Assuming we can fit this into Ashfeather's master-planned schedule."

Her brother leaned down to inspect it, both his forepaws planting the scroll firmly to the ground. Straightening up, he meowed, "It's doable, all right. But you know what that means? It means we only get two bathroom breaks today!"

"Why don't we get some food from there?" Goldwing piped up, flicking his tail somewhere.

Silverheart looked over the rim of the saddle to see a village from some way ahead. Fog was just rolling around it, enshrouding it in a thin layer of mist. There wasn't that much more to go to get to the village; all they had to do was to get something to float over there.

They stopped at a private spot in the nearby uplands, where Goldwing was covering Archie with a blanket of grass. Tobias was already similarly concealed in a little bush.

"There! Now you two look like bushes with horns and feathers!" Goldwing purred. "We'll see you two later, buddies!"

Archie groaned in reply while Tobias laid perfectly still like a bird in the storm. The four cats gave another "See you later" before they started padding away.

After they travelled over the rocks, they arrived at the edge of a cliff, surrounded by rolling fog. They looked around for the village, but there was so much fog that Silverheart felt like they would just pass it without noticing.

Nightfoot sniffed the air and remarked, "I don't smell or feel anything. Where's this village at, anyways?"

"It's in the middle of the river," Ashfeather replied, trying to peer through the fog.

"Sure is!"

The four cats looked down the steep hill at a skinny black-&-white tom looking up towards them. A little boat was sitting in the sludge river, floating as if it had no problem with the dirty water. The black-&-white cat meowed, "The name's Fritz. Mind if I ask who you four are?"

Silverheart looked around at her friends, trying to find an answer to that. Taking a breath, the white tabby she-cat lied, "We're...um...from the colonies of FireClan. You know, in EarthClan."

"Wow-wee! Colonists!" Fritz meowed with amazement. "Hop on, partners! I'll give you a ride to the village."

The four cats exchanged looks before they leapt down the rocks towards the black-&-white cat. Once they got to him, all five leaped on board and set sail for the village in the water. Fritz was paddling through the water with his paws, making Silverheart retch a little at this.

"Why do you live on this river?" she asked him.

Fritz explained, "Because we're a fishing town. At least...that's how it was before the factory moved in."

"Factory?" Silverheart and Goldwing asked. They looked towards an ominous-looking FireClan weapons factory, visible through a gap in the cliffs.

"Army makes their metal there," Fritz went on. "Moved in a few years ago and started mucking up our river. Now our little village's struggling to survive in this change."

**...**

Finally, the boat holding the five cats arrived at the fishing village, where the boat bumped very gently against the dock. All four cats save for Fritz leapt off the boat and landed on the dock as carefully as they could.

"Thanks for the ride, Fritz! It was fun!" Goldwing purred.

Fritz nodded and paddled away. Silverheart nodded her thanks in return before turning around to see the village. But what she saw made her heart nearly split in two.

Cats everywhere were looking hungry and sick, due to hunger and enforced illness. Those who had died from starvation or illness had their bodies piled up one after the other. And the other animals that shared the village didn't look healthy. Fish bodies were littering the water while a raven swooping down to catch a fish got stuck in the sludge and slowly choked until it died.

Silverheart could not bear to see this sad scene. Something had to be done to help these cats, even if they were from an enemy Clan. If something wasn't done, then they would all die a slow and painful death.

"Look at this place. Isn't it so sad?" she crooned. "We have to help them out somehow."

But Ashfeather turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, Silverheart, but we're not gonna waste time here! We have a mission to stay focused on! These cats are on their own!"

Silverheart faced him with anger, hardly believing what she heard from her brother's mouth. She spat, "These cats are sick and starving, but you want to leave them behind! How could you be so cold and heartless, you fucking fox-heart!"

"I'm not trying to be cruel; I'm just being realistic," Ashfeather retorted. "We can't run around and save every lowdown town we go to! We'll help them by beating Darkstar!"

"Yo, bigmouth!" Nightfoot hissed, slapping her tail on his mouth. "I think we gotta talk a little bit quieter about _beating Darkstar,_" she added, her voice going to a whisper.

Ashfeather's voice dropped to a whisper as he turned to his sister. "Come on, Silverheart. Just be sensible about this. We WOULD help these cats out, but our mission comes first. Got it?"

Silverheart let out a reluctant sigh. Part of her wanted to yowl at Ashfeather that they could hold off their mission for a bit, but another part of her told her not to. This part of her told her that helping Goldwing defeat Darkstar was more important. Yet she couldn't help but feel sorry for all the cats in this village.

"Yeah," she finally answered.

"Now let's just see what we can get and get going," Goldwing spoke up.

The WaterClan siblings turned around to join the Avatar Cat and Nightfoot at a counter of an outdoor market stall. It was staffed, to all appearances, by the same aged black-&-white tom who gave them a lift into town. He seemed to be wearing a sombrero on his head.

Ashfeather meowed, "Hey, Fritz! I didn't know you worked here!"

"Fritz?" the black-&-white tom meowed. "Fritz is my brother! The name's Duke!"

The cats shared baffled looks.

"But we just saw you at the docks!" Goldwing mewed. "You even have the same pelt! But the only thing different is that you're wearing a hat."

The tom meowed, "Fritz wears hats; that's why they call him Fritz. And I work at this here shop; that's why they call me Duke!"

Goldwing gave him a blank stare. "I don't get it."

"Me neither!" Fritz replied, pulling out a tray of reeking seafood. The stench itself was enough to make Silverheart retch. "What can I getcha? Hey, I'll give you a special deal! If you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam with a pearl for free!"

The four cats were revolted by the foul haul; this cat was crazy enough to collect crowfood. But prey was prey, and that meant they had to eat something.

"Fine. We'll take the fish only," Ashfeather spoke up. "Hey, can you tell your 'brother' that we need a ride back to shore?"

Fritz ducked beneath the counter, apparently rummaging for something. When he reappeared, he was no longer wearing the hat he was wearing just now. Ashfeather took one fish by the tail into his jaws while Silverheart did the same.

"Hey, colonists! My brother told me you wanted a lift back to shore."

The warriors watched as Fritz padded ahead of them to the boats. Silverheart padded behind to observe some more of the miserable scene before her. All the cats and animals in the village were too weak to see them; they were either staring blankly into space or chewing on a dead worm-infested cow in front of them. Silverheart could not bear to see them like this, but there was no way to help them...for now.

_Great StarClan, if you can hear me, let us stay here for a while and help them out._

But before she got to the docks with her friends, she felt a small pressure tug at her tail. The white tabby she-cat turned to see a skinny gray kit looking up at her with huge eyes.

"Excuse me, miss..." the kit squeaked weakly. "Can you spare some food?"

Compassion filling her heart, Silverheart dropped the fish down at the gray kit's paws. The kit looked up at her again, seemingly unable to speak.

"You can have mine, young one," she meowed to him. "I just wish we had some more."

The kit nodded and took the entire fish into his mouth. Silverheart watched with compassion as the kit scampered over to a skinny brown she-cat, perhaps its mother. However, crows were just gathering around them as if waiting for a good chance to feed.

Silverheart reluctantly tore her gaze away from this sad scene before following her friends to the docks. StarClan would not allow cats to be sick for this long, or they would come and heal them themselves. The WaterClan she-cat knew StarClan could not directly interfere with the living, but she wished they could ignore that rule for once to help those cats.

**...**

Back at camp, the Clan warriors were preparing for dinner to be made. Well...almost all the Clan warriors. Ashfeather was just busy looking over his schedule while the three Benders in the pack worked on Bending the pollution out of their cooking water. Archie and Tobias lazed around, just waiting for their next meal to come by.

"Our detour into that village today threw us off track on our schedule," Ashfeather began saying. "It's time to get serious and get back on schedule like we've always done! So let's get some very serious finagling and do it."

Nightfoot yawned. "All right then. Finagle away, Schedulestar."

Ashfeather glared at her in protest, but he ignored her. "First, we need to wake up forty-three minutes earlier than usual every morning."

"Forty-_three _minutes every day?" Silverheart gasped. She wasn't too much of a morning cat.

"We only have a moon to get to Darkstar in time for the invasion and the eclipse," her littermate explained. "Which, by the way, only lasts for eight minutes. And we lost a whole day. If we want to make up the time and stay back on track, we have to wake up early!"

"No way. I am NOT waking up early," Nightfoot snorted, her kittypet roots triggering.

Ashfeather gave her a sly smirk this time. "OR we can cut off our eating breaks."

This caused quite a loud uproar among the Bending cats.

"WHAT?" Goldwing whined.

"No way!" Silverheart mewled.

"Forget it!" Nightfoot growled.

"All right then," Ashfeather meowed. "How about this? From now on, we do bathroom breaks all at the same time?" As the cats groaned in disgust, the black-pelted tom insisted, "Look, it may be gross, but it's efficient. Either way, we're leaving at dawn tomorrow."

Silverheart looked away from the talking cats to the village. She just couldn't get the hungry and sick villagers out of her mind.

**...**

"Hey, Silverheart. What's up?"

Morning had arrived, and Silverheart was sitting beside Archie for a few minutes, hearing him groan lowly. Goldwing had come over to see his dragon along with the other two cats behind him. Archie let out another low groan, and that made his owner look at him with concern.

Silverheart looked up from rubbing Archie's forehead. "I think he ate something and got sick."

Ashfeather's pale blue eyes widened with horror. "What? Archie's sick? Aw, hell no! This is awful!"

"Wow. I didn't know you really cared," Nightfoot smirked.

"Well, of _course _I care! Maybe I should just throw away the schedule right now!"

This caused the three other cats to give him a stink-eyed glare. Ashfeather noticed this and gently rubbed Archie's forehead, adding, "Not to mention that I'm concerned for my poor big buddy being sick!"

Silverheart gave a small sigh.

Nightfoot sniffed the dragon's fur calmly. "I think he got sick from drinking that tainted water."

"He doesn't look THAT sick," Goldwing mewed. To Archie, he asked, "You okay?"

In reply, Archie opened his mouth and let his tongue roll out in front of them. His tongue was now a deep purple, slightly like eating a blueberry or more. Silverheart thought it was mildly funny to see a purple tongue, but she kept quiet.

But Goldwing didn't seem to find this funny. Instead, he groaned, "His tongue is deep PURPLE? Oh shit, this isn't good! Can you heal him, Silverheart?"

"I don't think my healing powers can deal with this," the WaterBender replied. "It looks like he'll need some medicine. Let's go back to the village and get him some herbs."

**...**

When they arrived at the village, things seemed a bit different. For one, the animals around the village seemed a bit healthier. The second was that the cats of the village, once complaining of lack of food, were now happily eating. Silverheart could see two she-cats take a bite out of their own prey before swapping it, a custom made by the Tribe cats.

"Hey, is it me or...does this place look different?" Nightfoot asked, looking around.

"Yeah," Goldwing agreed, looking around too. "Everyone looks...happy."

Silverheart jumped a bit to the side as the same gray kit from the day before bouncing a ball on his nose. A few more kits followed him, squealing happily as they playfully squabbled over the ball. Silverheart allowed a small smile to cross her face; it looked like StarClan HAD come by and helped them all.

The four Clan warriors padded up to Fritz's market stall, where he wore the same sombrero that "Duke" was wearing. It looked like he was displaying his "Duke" character.

"Hey, Duke," Ashfeather meowed as they got near. "What's up with everyone today?"

Fritz purred, "Ah, something wonderful happened the night before. Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful cat. Her name is...Spottedleaf."

"Spotted who now?" Silverheart asked.

"Spottedleaf. That's her name!" Fritz purred, plunking a colored figurine of his cat down on the counter.

Silverheart looked down at the figurine. She was a heavily draped tortoiseshell-&-white she-cat with ornate face make-up, amber eyes, and a wide-brimmed conical hat. To Silverheart, this cat appeared to be a kind and beautiful she-cat; she had heard tales of this great medicine cat.

Fritz went on, "She's part of our town's lore. They say she's a river spirit who watches over our town in troubled times. I always thought she was a legend; in fact, ever since the last battle of the Ancient Clans, she hadn't been seen much by cat eyes. Until now."

"See?" Ashfeather mewed to his sister. "We don't need to help these cats; they have another cat to help them. All we need is medicine for our sick friend," he added, turning back to Fritz.

"Medicine? Sorry, but we don't have that," Fritz replied. "All our medicine goes to the factory. That's the reason why there's so many sick cats in our village."

Those words made Silverheart smirk a bit to herself. Here was a chance for her to try and save these cats; if not, then Spottedleaf could help. So she meowed, "Well...looks like we'll have to stay another night until Archie feels well."

Ashfeather stared at her as if she had grown two heads. Then, with a very exasperated groan, he groaned, "Fine. I guess we can stay for ONE MORE night. So Fritz, got any food for sale?"

"Sure do!" the black-&-white tom purred, two piscine horrors laid out on the counter. "What would you four like today? A two-head or one-head fish?"

Ashfeather leapt onto the counter, observing this disgusting haul and mulling it over. Finally, he meowed, "Two-headed, please!"

This made the three other cats gag with disgust. And like backing off from a skunk, they backed away from the two-headed fish Ashfeather was holding in his jaws.

"What?" Ashfeather asked defensively as they backed off. "You save more money like this!"

**...**

That night, the crescent moon shone in the sky like a silver claw. A cryptic figure, resembling Fritz's Spottedleaf statuette, glided over the water on a carpet of fog and entered the village. She waited for any of the cats to wake up; when they didn't, she went on her saw.

The tortoiseshell cat stepped into a home, likely a hospital, where several cats were sleeping on the floor. Nodding down at their sleeping forms, she bent over each of them, healing them with herbs. Her last patient was the mother of a gray kit, her son sleeping at her side. The gray kit woke up as the tortoiseshell turned to go and silently followed her out the door.

"Thank you, Spottedleaf," the kit mewled.

Startled at the sound of the kit, the tortoiseshell she-cat turned and nodded to him. When the kit spun around to go back to sleep, Spottedleaf sprang out the door and ran off into the night.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The next day, the four Clan warriors went back to the village to check for food. As usual, Fritz was polishing his Spottedleaf figurine with a rag as Ashfeather stepped up to the counter.

"Hey, Fritz. Where's Duke at?" the black warrior asked him.

Silverheart heard a small groan beside her and turned around. Goldwing was not falling for this cat's many personalities.

"Let's see..." The black-&-white tom ran around the shop and ducked beneath the counter to switch hats. He ran out again in his "Duke" disguise and purred, "Hey there! Back again, eh?"

Nightfoot nodded. "Yep. We need more food for our friend. He's still sick, and we can't leave until he gets better."

Fritz obligingly presented them with a platter of toxic clams. Silverheart almost wretched at the smell of the clams. "Oh, that's too bad. Maybe if you guys are lucky, Spottedleaf will visit you in the night and heal your friend."

Being the eternal skeptic he was, Ashfeather grumbled sarcastically, "Oh yeah, sure. And then she can give us a whale to eat and we'll sing the Campfire Song!"

"Maybe she might!" Fritz purred, oblivious to the sarcasm. "Hey, guess what? Spottedleaf came to our village again last night! Healed most of our folk!"

"Is this why everyone looks so...festive?" Goldwing asked. He flicked his tail to the villagers erecting a large bronze statue of Spottedleaf in the town square to the cheers and applause.

Fritz nodded. "Yep! All because of Spottedleaf!"

"Can you believe how much a village can be affected by one cat?" Silverheart mewed in a very rhetorical way. Noticing the looks on her friend's faces, she backtracked, "I mean...spirit."

"Well, _I _hope she comes here every night," Ashfeather spoke up. "Otherwise, this place'll go back to what it used to be."

Silverheart faced him with a look of mixed indignation and joy. "Ashfeather, why the hell would you say that? Look at these cats! Look at how better off they are!"

Ashfeather snorted. "Yeah...for now. They won't be able to fend for themselves without that cat around. If Spottedleaf really wanted to help, she'd use her spirit magic to blow up that factory." He made some weird gestures to indicate explosive spirit magic, adding weird noises with his throat, "Oooooo...pow."

"Spirit magic doesn't work that way," Goldwing insisted. "It goes like...whoooo..." He ended up doing an elaborate yet strange dance to one-up the WaterClan warrior.

Silverheart gave a low growl as she left the two toms hamming it up together. If the two toms weren't going to help her try and cheer the cats up, she would have to do so herself. And she was sure Spottedleaf would come around at night and help these defenseless cats once again. If only she could stay up at night...

_And I think I know how._

**...**

Night had fallen over the territory of FireClan once again. Silverheart opened one eye to make sure the other cats (plus Archie and Tobias) were fast asleep. Once she was sure, she lifted her tail away from her face and sat up, shaking the dust off her fur. Then Silverheart slipped out of her nest and stuffed dried grass into it to disguise her absence.

She made a makeshift Spottedleaf costume and wrapped a ragged gown around her, painting her face in a Bended ice mirror. Then Silverheart finished it off with a wide conical hat similar to the StarClan cat's but with a filmy white veil covering her face. To make sure she got the fur color right, she quietly painted her fur until it became tortoiseshell-&-white.

Silverheart felt guilty about what she was doing, yet she knew it was the right thing to do. She had been disguising herself as Spottedleaf for the past few nights and delivered herbs and food to the village. No cat knew she was doing this, yet she decided this was going to be worth it.

"Hope this is the last time," Silverheart thought aloud to herself.

Without another word, she glided away toward the village, but not quietly enough. Her ruffling noises woke up Tobias, who fluttered to Goldwing and nudged him awake.

"Huh? What is it, Tobias?" the tiger-striped Avatar Cat groaned. But then...he spotted her at the top of the cliff.

"It's her!" he squealed, getting up and racing towards her! "Greetings, Spottedleaf!"

Startled, Silverheart spun around on the spot and leaped down the cliff. Using the rocks on the cliff side, she managed to climb down the cliff safely with no problem. Once she got down, she begins running away, but she was only barely able to keep ahead of the determined AirBender.

Goldwing was yowling, "Excuse me! I don't wanna bother you, but my friend's sick, and we're on a tight schedule! I'm the bridge between StarClan and our world!" As Silverheart ran on, Goldwing yowled, "I know Kwan Yin! We're close friends!"

The AirClan warrior chased her across the land, over the river, and into the village. Running along a rooftop, he gave a long shout to her...but, distracted by the vocalization, he ran into a roof pole. He showed no signs of getting up right away; Silverheart gave a small sigh and went on her way.

The disguised WaterClan she-cat continued on through the village, across the river, and onto the opposite riverbank. She stopped to catch her breath, turned around...and faced Goldwing. He had appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey there!" he mewed. "My name's Goldwing! I'm the Avatar Cat!"

Silverheart had no idea on how to reply, but she thought of a plan. She used the hat to hide her face and started meowing in a fake spiritual voice, "Greetings, Avatar Cat Goldwing. I'd love to stay and talk with you...but I am very busy tonight."

Goldwing nodded. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I hate that too." Then, suddenly peering close to her under the hat brim, he added, "You know...you look really beautiful for a StarClan spirit. I don't meet many other cats or spirits in StarClan, but the ones I DO meet...not that pretty."

Silverheart felt herself go hot under her fur as he called her beautiful. She had seen him staring at her in awe three times already; one of those times he DID call her beautiful, that was back at the city of BoulderClan. A little voice in her head was telling her that he was attracted to her, yet she pushed that thought away. She didn't have the time to have a mate yet.

So she chuckled in a nervous way and meowed, "Thank you, but..."

"Hey." Goldwing had leapt in front of her and was studying her closely. "You look familiar too. Do I know you?"

"A lot of cats say that," Silverheart replied in her fake voice.

Goldwing's dark gray eyes narrowed with suspicion. "No, you REALLY seem familiar."

Silverheart began to step back. "Look, I should be going. I have places to go."

Then she began to turn around to leave, hoping Goldwing would fall for it. But a gust of wind from the AirBender blew the hat off her head and blew her into a puddle. When she got out of the puddle, she was horrified; the water had washed away her tortoiseshell colors, revealing her white tabby fur.

Frantically, she leapt behind a rock to hide herself. But...

"_Silverheart?_" Goldwing's voice was shocked.

"Hey, Goldwing," the white tabby sighed, knowing there was no hiding her secret anymore. She stepped out from behind the rock, some tortoiseshell color still left on her pelt.

Goldwing kept gawking at her in shock as he rasped, "_You're_ Spottedleaf?"

Silverheart hung her head. "I really wasn't at first, but...I just wanted to help the village cats. You saw how miserable they were when we first saw them. But since everyone thought I was Spottedleaf for a while...I guess I DID become her."

The possible angry look on Ashfeather's face made her hang her head even lower. She was sure her brother would forbid her from helping other cats while on their mission.

"So you've been sneaking out at night while we've been here!" Goldwing probed. Then, with suspicion in his voice, he asked, "Wait, is Archie _really _sick?"

"Well..." Silverheart meowed, shuffling her forepaws. "He might've gotten sick of the purple berries I've been feeding him. But other than that, he's fine."

Goldwing's jaw fell open. "I can't believe you lied to us so you can help these cats!"

Silverheart looked away from him, a tear of shame in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Goldwing. I know I shouldn't lie to you. You probably think of me as a liar, don't you?"

"Hell no, Silverheart! I think it's awesome!" She looked back to see eagerness on the Avatar Cat's face. "It's like you're a secret StarClan cat! Like a hero!"

"Hey, if you wanna help me out..." Silverheart purred, feeling better at this. "There's one more thing I have to do before we leave."

She kinked her tail towards him and raced off towards the direction of the factory. He followed her to the edge of the factory, black smoke billowing out from the pipes on the top. It felt like they were walking into a gas chamber, patiently waiting for their doom.

"So you want to destroy the factory?" Goldwing asked Silverheart.

The white tabby she-cat nodded. "Yeah. Ashfeather was joking earlier about this, but he's right. If we can just get rid of this factory, then everyone will be saved permanently."

They entered the factory and diehard Bending-assisted mayhem ensued. Goldwing did many things like causing melted metal to pour to the ground and cracking pipes with EarthBending. In the meantime, Silverheart used WaterBending to flood the floor and clash with the melted metal.

The carnage ended with explosions rocking the building and the two cats running out. The sun was just rising over the hills as they returned to the campsite, shades of pink, orange, and blue decorating the sky. Goldwing and Silverheart were swapping tales of what they did back at the factory.

"Ha ha!" Goldwing laughed as he padded beside Silverheart. "Did you see me bring those pipes down to the ground? BOOM!"

"Yeah, but keep it down, okay?" she meowed in reply. "We don't want to wake Ashfeather up."

But when she rounded around a corner, it was too late to take it back. Ashfeather and Nightfoot were sitting at the entrance of the camp, looking suspicious. But Ashfeather looked more angry than suspicious; Silverheart could see Goldwing smile a fake cheesy grin.

So she did the same and greeted them, "Hey, Ashfeather! We were just...out for a walk! This sure is a beautiful morning for a morning walk!"

"A morning walk, huh? How stupid do you think we are?" Ashfeather growled, flicking his ears towards his sister's grass-filled nest. "I _knew_ you were pretending to be Spottedleaf. I _knew _you were sneaking out at night! And I _really _knew you lied about Archie and fed him those purple-tongue berries!"

At that, Nightfoot stuck out her now-purple tongue and shoved a bag of purple berries forward as innocence. Tobias was beside her, part of his beak now purple.

But Ashfeather went on with a snarl, "Silverheart, what you've been doing is putting our entire mission at risk! We're leaving right now!"

Silverheart wanted to complain that she was just helping the cats, that Spottedleaf would approve of her helping out. But the glare in Ashfeather's pale blue eyes did not change from the slight begging look she gave him. Giving a small growl in reply, Silverheart spun around and stalked back to camp.

"And how long have _you_ known about this?" Ashfeather was growling at Goldwing.

"Hey, I just found out a few hours ago," the tiger-striped tom replied.

The black-furred tom eyeballed him shiftily, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he followed him to the camp, where Silverheart and Nightfoot started packing up right away. Silverheart couldn't help but give a snarl in her brother's direction, which he ignored.

Suddenly, a strange sound filled the air and they look up to see what it was. When they reached the edge of the hill, they saw a unit of FireClan warriors on jet skis racing down the river towards the village. The looks on their faces told Silverheart that these cats were angry about something. But then...she knew why they were angry.

_The factory! Goldwing and I blew up their factory!_

"Huh? What's going on here?" Nightfoot mewed, looking around.

Goldwing's dark gray eyes were wide with shock. "FireClan warriors! They're heading for the village!"

Ashfeather stared in shock before rounding angrily on his sister. "Silverheart, what'd you do?"

Silverheart shuffled her forepaws guiltily. "I, uh...kinda blew up their factory."

"You WHAT?"

"It was your idea!"

Ashfeather shook his head. "I was just joking! I also said, _sarcastically_, to use some spirit magic and funny noises!" He let out a low and angry hiss. "Rrrr! Did you EVER think this damn plan through? Now the army's gonna blame the cats in the village! They're going there right now for revenge, and it's all your fault!"

Silverheart glared back at him, offended. "Well then, what was I supposed to do?"

"Just leave! Do nothing! Leave these cats to fend for themselves!" her brother spat.

Survival of the fittest. She had heard of this before, and this was what Ashfeather was implying. Her own Clanmates was actually ignoring the Warrior Code, where the safety of the Clan was to be above one cat. A motherly nature tugged at Silverheart's chest; she could not bear to see all those cats and their kits be killed for something she did. Not to mention that she recalled whatever she had done for them during those nights.

There was only one answer...

"No!" Silverheart meowed firmly as she faced Ashfeather. "I will never EVER turn my back on those who need me!"

Ashfeather's glare turned to a shocked look.

Getting up from her spot, Silverheart went on, "If you want to leave like a cowardly bastard, then fine. But I'M going down to the village, and I'm gonna do whatever I can to help them."

Ignoring Ashfeather rising from his spot, the white tabby she-cat began climbing down the rocks and padded towards the village. If Ashfeather wasn't going to help her and leave those cats to die, then it was his problem, and his problem alone. She didn't mind Goldwing and Nightfoot not helping; it was her brother who had a problem with it.

But she hadn't really gone that far when she smelled a familiar scent. Ashfeather was sliding down the rocks and leapt forward to land before her.

"Silverheart, wait," her brother meowed. "...I'm coming with you."

"I thought you weren't going to help?" Silverheart retorted, her dark blue eyes narrowing. "I thought you wanted to leave them to fend for themselves?"

Now Ashfeather was the one who looked guilty. "I-I'm sorry. You're right; I was being cruel and heartless. Besides, _you _need _me_. I'll never turn my back on you, sis."

Now Silverheart was the one who looked shocked. Her brother was protective of his sister, but what he said seemed to make him take a level in kindness. She threw him into a big hug, purring, "Oh Ashfeather! You DO have a heart!"

Goldwing and Nightfoot had joined them and watched the siblings embrace lovingly. Then, as they watched on, Goldwing wiped a tear from his eye and mewed to Nightfoot, "He really DOES have a heart, doesn't he?"

But Silverheart knew her former apprentice well; the gray she-cat had a low tolerance for this kind of girly rubbish. With a growl, Nightfoot hit him in the chest with a forepaw, felling him to the ground.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"I thought we could all live together in peace as neighbors," Silverheart heard a mottled brown tom snarl as she hid in the reeds. "But I guess I was wrong. You stole _our_ food from our camp, you stole _our _medicine from our storage...and you _destroyed_ our factory!"

Popping out of the crowd, Fritz meowed, "We didn't do any of that." He popped out in a very different place wearing his Duke hat. "Yeah! Spottedleaf brought us some food. She's the one that healed our sick, not your medicine."

The brown tom scoffed, "Oh sure. The _mysterious_ Spottedleaf did it. And I suppose she drew the army emblem on your vessels too? Well, who do you think you're kidding? She was killed in the last battle of the ancient Clans! This damned town's full of nothing but thieves and liars!"

He Bended a fire blast towards a house, destroying it to Silverheart's anger. The mottled brown tom jeered, "Where's your Spottedleaf now? We're gonna cure the world of this vile village!"

The FireClan warriors spread out and began demolishing the town. Silverheart could feel herself shaking with anger, but she waited until the time came to strike back. Even though she had a very strong urge to leap out the reeds and fight, she had to hide and disguise herself.

But when two of them lit up a large igneous ball perched on a float in the river, her anger turned to fear. If that was lid up...and if it exploded...then all the cats in the village could get killed in the explosion. Silverheart could not bear to see the explosion, watching the bodies of cats and blood polluting the river even more.

But just when the flames got onto the float, a mysterious gust of wind from nowhere blew the fire out. The FireClan cats fired another bout of fire at it, yet the trick was repeated. Silverheart gave a relieved sigh; now those cats could still be saved.

"Rrrr...light it again!" the mottled brown tom snarled.

They did so, yet the wind blew the fire out yet again. Eerie flute music began floating over the water like the fog surrounding Silverheart.

"Look!" a black-&-white FireClan she-cat gasped as the fog settled over them. "Where's the fog coming from?"

A ginger tom replied, "I don't know! Something weird is going on here!"

Silverheart tried not to bristle as an ominous growling noise echoed over the river. For she knew who was doing the growling.

"It's Spottedleaf," the gray kit breathed. "_She's coming._"

"Spottedleaf isn't here, you little brat!" the mottled brown FireClan cat spat.

The black-&-white she-cat retorted, "Well, tell us what that sound is, then!"

A repetitive thudding noise, as of giant footsteps, had begun. Silverheart knew what was going on at the further bank. The thudding was caused by Nightfoot elevating and dropping a large boulder, Archie was doing the growling, and Ashfeather was working the flute.

"Huh," the ginger tom meowed, sniffing about. "Maybe there IS something going on."

Silverheart knew that now was the time for her plan to go into full action. _It's now or never, _she thought as she slowly stepped out of the reeds. _It's time FireClan got driven out of this town for good. Spottedleaf, wherever you are, watch over us!_

She allowed the fog to part dramatically as she stepped onto the water, using her Bending to balance herself on the water. The tortoiseshell fur and strange clothing was enough to make the villagers stare at her in awe. She paused a moment for the dramatic effect to pass before rushing toward the FireClan warriors in a burst of WaterBending. She alighted on the dock and slowly prowled towards them.

"Hurry! Do something!" the mottled brown tom hissed, pushing his warriors forward. He seemed to be disturbed by this sudden appearance.

As they timidly drew near, they were rattled by a blast of AirBending. Silverheart looked down to see a dark gray eye twinkling with mischief.

The FireClan warrior spat, "Stand your ground, warriors!"

Quivering still, the FireClan warriors had no choice but to pounce at her with bared claws and fangs. Reacting fast, Silverheart Bended two jet skis into a nearby cliff. As she raised a paw to wreak further damage, the FireClan warriors jumped into the remaining jet skis and sped off, leaving their patrol leader behind.

"Fine! Go ahead and run, you little piss ants! I'll take you down myself, spirit!" The tom spat the last word out like it was a curse.

He Bended an arc of fire around his black claws and leapt at Silverheart. Goldwing, who was still hidden beneath the dock, sent Silverheart flying into the sky on a column of air. The tom and his flames passed harmlessly beneath her. For good measure, Goldwing split the dock into two with a blast of wind, sending the cat flying into the river.

As he floundered about, Silverheart rose out of the polluted water before him and raised her tail up threateningly. The splashing of the cat got onto her face, yet she ignored it.

"Leave this village," she meowed, sounding as if StarClan spirits had come to her side. "And never return."

The mottled brown tom nodded, his amber eyes wide, as he swam desperately away from her. A stray jet ski passed by, and he clambered into it. Once he got on, the ski buzzed off. Silverheart watched them go with a small satisfied smile spreading across her face. The warriors were now gone from the village, so it was soon time for these villagers to fend for themselves.

Ashfeather and Nightfoot paddled over to the village, pulling themselves onto the mooring and shaking the sludge off their fur. Goldwing joined them by pulling himself up, his claws sinking into the wood and scraping it. Meanwhile, the villagers had gathered around to cheer Silverheart for what she had done.

"I knew you'd come," the kit purred, smiling up at Silverheart.

"Yeah! Thanks, Spottedleaf!" Fritz added with a goofy smile.

"You're the best, Spottedleaf!" a brown tabby cheered.

Fritz nodded. "Me and my brothers owe you so...wait a moment!" The black-&-white tom had stopped as he stared at her in shock. "Hey, I know you! You're not Spottedleaf! You're that colonist white tabby queen!"

The kit piped up, "Yeah! You gave me that fish a few days ago!"

Silverheart gasped and looked down at her paw. When she had stopped to wipe the sludge off her face, she had rubbed the fur paint off her fur, leaving mottled paint on her paw pad. Now all the cats were yowling at her in anger.

"You've been tricking us! You're a WaterBender!" Fritz yowled.

"Yeah! How dare you impersonate Spottedleaf!" the brown tabby snarled.

Yowls of "Banish her!" and even "Kill her!" rose into the air as they stalked angrily towards her. Silverheart braced herself, ready to fight her way through the angry mob if she had to. But what they were doing...she wasn't expecting this. _I just wanted to help! _she wanted to wail.

_Please believe me..._

"You ungrateful bastards!" It was Ashfeather, who had placed himself between his sister and the villagers. "Look, she may be a WaterBender, but she wanted to help you! And because of her, that factory won't pollute your river, and the army is gone! Instead of attacking her, you should all be down to the dock thanking her!"

That caused the cats to back away and arch their backs in anger, hissing. The black warrior did the same thing minus the back-arching thing. If something wasn't done, then unnecessary and angry violence would break out.

So Silverheart stepped around her littermate and meowed, "Ashfeather, stop. It's okay." Facing the angry crowd and removing her disguise, she explained, "I know I shouldn't have tried to be someone I wasn't, and I'm sorry I tricked all of you. My brother's right; I just wanted to do something and help you all. But it doesn't matter if Spottedleaf is still in StarClan or not. Your problems are real, and this _river_ is real. You can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to learn to help yourselves."

She stopped talking, half expecting the villagers to just jump at her and kill her on the spot. But instead, they exchanged ashamed glances as they gave small smiles to her, murmuring apologies to her. Her friends gave her proud smiles as she felt a purr rise into her throat and escape.

"You know what? She's right!" Fritz spoke up. "But what can we do?"

Nightfoot had suddenly appeared into the crowd; it appeared that she snuck around to slip into the villagers. Then she called in a deep voice, "I know! Maybe we can clean the river!"

Fritz's yellow eyes lit up. "Hey, yeah! We can clean the river!" As cheers followed this, the black-&-white cat turned to Silverheart, meowing, "Thank you! Hey, you're not that bad for a WaterBender! I just wish Spottedleaf was a WaterBender."

Ashfeather's eyes lit up at the sound of that. Quickly, he asked, "Hey, if you don't mind, would you mind not telling anyone about this?"

"No problem! My lips are sealed!" Fritz purred. "Shutting my mouth is a specialty. My brother Duke, on the other paw, oh hoo! He's one hell of a chatterbox!"

"So are you gonna help us clean up, Fritz?" Silverheart asked.

Fritz shook his head. "No ma'am. That's my other brother Dumbo! He LOVES cleaning rivers! I'll go get him!" To her amusement, the black-&-white tom brazenly switched hats right in front of them. He wore a cowboy hat as he purred, "Hey there, I'm Dumbo! Let's get some good river cleaning done!"

"Knew it!" Goldwing called, stepping forward with a satisfied tone. "I KNEW you were the same cat! You're the boat owner _and _the shop owner!"

"Oh, those were my brothers Fritz and Duke," "Dumbo" replied.

Goldwing let out an agitated hiss. "_What?_ But we just saw you! You just switched hats and called yourself a different name!"

Fritz purred, "You know who does that? My brother Fritz. Be careful, though," he added in a whisper. "He's crazier than a fox in a fit!"

That made the tiger-striped ginger tom growl and sink his claws into the dock. He gave his friends an aggravated look as if he was saying _He's been drinking sewage for too long! _But that made Silverheart and the others laugh as they heard Goldwing mutter something unable to be heard.

So everyone got right to work and worked hard at cleaning up the river. The healthy oxen in the village had gotten up and helped them out by hauling out loads of sludge and pushing it away. Some seagulls from the ocean had swooped in to eat at the rotting fish before heading out. AvatarClan did not stop to complain about anything, not even Ashfeather, who would usually complain.

And at last, by sunset, the river was completely clean, giving off a blue and pristine color.

**...**

Night had fallen over FireClan land. The sounds of crickets chirping and owls hooting had returned after moons of leaving the river. Silverheart rose her head wearily from her nest to see if any of her friends were asleep. When they were, the white tabby she-cat got up and slipped quietly out of camp, ignoring Ashfeather's sleep talking.

She arrived at the bank near their camp, bent her head low, and calmly began lapping up cool water with her tongue. The taste was so cool and refreshing that she felt like she was being born once again. Little gusts of wind made her shiver a little, but it made her feel relaxed; she had worked hard all day and was expecting to find a cool way to cool down.

_"Silverheart..."_

The WaterClan she-cat spun around on the spot to see who had spoken, yet she found no one behind her. Then she realized that the something that spoke to her was a bit above her, so she turned back to see who it was. And when she saw this speaker, she had to keep back a yowl of surprise.

A she-cat spirit was sitting in the air in front of her, smiling gently down at her. She was a beautiful and dappled tortoiseshell-&-white she-cat with an orange-tipped tail, white paws, and bright amber eyes. Her smile was enough to make Silverheart feel as if her mother was gazing down at her from the stars.

"_Thank you, Silverheart,_" Spottedleaf purred, dipping her head towards her. "_You have saved the village and stopped a needless genocide from happening. May you be remembered by many as that hero. Thank you..."_

After one more head-dipping, the ancient ThunderClan medicine cat gave her one more smile before slowly fading away.

Silverheart gave a small smile in return after the fading Spottedleaf. She would never forget the spiritual strength this ancient cat had given her, and she would remember her for all the moons to come. And when she would have kits of her own one day, she could tell them all about how she helped Spottedleaf save the village.

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Due to Spottedleaf dying again on The Last Hope, I decided to let her be on this chapter in honor of her. She was a good medicine cat when she was alive and dead. We will never forget her.**

**Aang: That's what I got confused about. When a cat in StarClan or the Dark Forest die, where do they go?**

**AvatarCat12: I have no idea.**

**Katara: Someone had a theory about that. If a StarClan cat dies, they go to a place even better than StarClan. And if a Dark Forest dies, they go to a place even worse than the Dark Forest.**

**AvatarCat12: You know what? That might be true!**

**Aang: Yeah. It's kinda like the Spirit World. And I think I better finish this to go to the review and preview for Ashfeather's mentor. (To the readers) Anyone who reviews this chapter will get virtual Spottedleaf or Firestar. They died on The Last Hope, so we pay our final respects to them. We don't allow flames on here, and we allow advice and constructive criticism on here.**

**Preview: Three cats in the AvatarClan are Benders, but Ashfeather doesn't feel like he fits in for not being a Bender. Instead, he feels as if he can try to learn the way of the dagger. So he tries to find a good dagger mentor to teach him while his friends grow bored without him doing the planning. Meanwhile, Irontail looks as if insanity has taken over his mind...or has it?**

**All three: See ya next time! And Happy early Easter!**


	4. Ashfeather's Mentor

**AvatarCat12: Legend Of Korra has come out at last!**

**Katara: I know! It came out nearly a week ago!**

**Aang: Yeah! But...I'm sorry I won't get to see my grandkids. But hey, they all seem like good AirBenders!**

**Katara: Well, that's one good thing they learned from their dad. And their grandpa.**

**AvatarCat12: She's right. And let's go on with the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: These two series aren't mine. Bryke and Erin Hunter(s) own them. And remember, the cats on here are semi-anthropomorphic. They mostly act like real cats, but they sometimes do stuff that humans usually do.**

**Summary: Three cats in the AvatarClan are Benders, but Ashfeather doesn't feel like he fits in for not being a Bender. Instead, he feels as if he can try to learn the way of the dagger. So he tries to find a good dagger mentor to teach him while his friends grow bored without him doing the planning. Meanwhile, Irontail looks as if insanity has taken over his mind...or has it?**

**Uploading Date: April 22, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Ashfeather's Mentor**_

"Wow. This is amazing!"

It was Silverheart who had spoken. Ashfeather and his friends were watching a meteor shower flying across the night time sky. Goldwing was pretending to paw at the meteors passing over their heads, though Ashfeather didn't. He was strongly reminded of why they were in FireClan: wait until the invasion came, then meet up with Emberstar.

The four warriors were lying on a makeshift roof covering Archie and staring up at the starry sky. Ashfeather was sure their warrior ancestors were out hunting in the skies, for he heard that every day in StarClan was greenleaf like it was now. Prey would never run out, and it would always be either warm or cool depending on the season.

"Yeah," Ashfeather agreed with his sister. "And it makes me realize how small we are."

Nightfoot shrugged. "Eh...you've seen nothing once, you've seen it loads of times."

There was a sparkle in the sky as a large comet entered the atmosphere and fell toward the earth. The animals sharing the landscape were looking up at the comet and didn't bother to get back to what they were doing.

Ashfeather and his friends quickly sat up on their spots. Ashfeather rasped, "Great StarClan! You know what they say: you ain't seen nothing yet!"

The four cats and Tobias all sat up and stared at amazement at the comet, engulfed in blue fire. The comet whistled like a cork through the air and passed over their heads. Ashfeather turned his head around and watched as the comet crashes in a huge, blue explosion off in the distance. When this happened, the cloud caused him to shield his eyes as Nightfoot stood up in surprise.

The pack looked at the smoke rising from an orange glow as birds flew away, cawing in alarm. Ashfeather, Goldwing, and Silverheart turned to each other nervously. Whatever had happened, this was not going to be good.

So the four warrior cats leapt off the makeshift roof and ran towards the place where the comet had crashed. Archie and Tobias followed them, Archie letting the four cats leap onto his saddle and fly over. The birds were flying past them, but Tobias ignored them as he followed his feline friends over the grasslands.

Ashfeather couldn't help but see a town nestled in the mountains. Archie was now flying down towards a large fire-filled crater where the meteorite landed. Near the crater, other animals were fleeing from the approaching flames, crying out in fear.

"That fire's gonna burn the town down!" Silverheart cried in fear for the cats' safety.

"Not if we can help it!" Goldwing meowed.

As Archie landed on the ground, Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot leapt off of Archie's saddle while Silverheart remained on board. Tobias tucked his wings in and dove towards the cats, slowing down and landing on Ashfeather's head.

Silverheart tilted her head over the other way as she meowed, "There's a stream nearby. I'll go get some water to put the fire out." At that, she took hold of the reins and held on tight as Archie lifted himself into the air and took off.

"Nightfoot, help me build a ditch to keep the fire from getting any further," Goldwing told her. "And while we're at it, we'll make sure the other animals are out safe and sound."

The young black warrior nodded as the two cats raced towards the fire.

"But what do I do?" There was a bit of dejection lodged in Ashfeather's throat.

The two warriors looked back over their shoulders while Tobias still sat on his perch. Goldwing replied, "Keep an eye on Tobias."

Tobias cawed in comfort as the two warriors leapt away towards the fire.

Angrily, Ashfeather growled, "So what am I? A hawk-sitter?" As Tobias cawed again, he patted him on the head reluctantly, muttering, "There, there, little hawk. Feel better."

He watched on bitterly as Goldwing and Nightfoot ran towards the fire. They both swung their tails down and cut a gap through the ground in front of the fire. Goldwing and Nightfoot raised their tails up and then flung them from side to side, Bending the fissure into a ditch and pushing the fire back. Flaming embers fall around them as Ashfeather frantically stamped one out with his paw while Tobias stamped out the rest and flew back on his shoulders.

Ashfeather looked back to see all the other fires put one and gave Tobias a sour expression. _Even Tobias is getting better than me at this! What's wrong with me?_

Splashing noises made him turn to see Silverheart and Archie flying over the nearby stream. His sister Bended a huge orb of water out of the stream and into the air, Bending the water behind her and steadying it. Ashfeather watched Archie fly over the flames while Silverheart sprayed a misty shower of water from the orb, putting out most of the flames.

Nightfoot sat on her haunches and moved her paws from side to side, Bending a large four-sided slab of stone to roll over its edges and stomp out more flames. Ashfeather and Tobias merely watched the stone slab pass by, a bitterness seeping into Ashfeather's mind. After helping the other animals, Goldwing quickly took the orb of water from Silverheart with WaterBending as Archie flew past him.

"Stand clear, Ashfeather!" the tiger-striped tom called.

"Right," Ashfeather sighed dejectedly. "Standing clear. Got it." The black tom stood up, Tobias perched on his head, and began to stalk away.

Goldwing Bended the water behind him and took a deep breath before pushes his forelegs forth, throwing water at the fire and exhaling a gust of wind. Tobias quickly flew off before Ashfeather was caught by surprise by the torrent of water. A globe of water grows out from the center of the flaming crater and exploded, spreading a light spray of snow all over the area, putting out all the fire.

Archie and Silverheart landed nearby as Nightfoot padded up to Goldwing, who was looking at the younger animals play in the snow. Purring, he meowed, "Good job, everyone!"

Ashfeather, who had been buried in the snow, dug himself out from a pile of it, spitting snow out in the process. Tobias slid past him on a thin layer of fresh snow while the baby animals pranced around him in joy.

This made Ashfeather lower his head even more and growl. He couldn't even try to go and help Silverheart get some water to put out the fire. All he felt he was good at was making schedules and hawk-sitting Tobias. He even wondered why he had bothered going on this journey if it meant he couldn't do anything useful.

_I might as well stay at home and defend our camp. I can't do anything right!_

**...**

Irontail was still being held captive in a very dark cell; it was around a half-moon since Bearclaw came to visit him. The door opened, and light poured in over the old gray tabby. Irontail was just leaning against the wall, eyes glazed over and drooling. He looked up to see an orange tabby warden walking up to the bars of the cell.

The warden dropped a bowl of slop on the floor in front of the cell and kicked it over to Irontail, spilling it. Irontail flew at the food, desperate and gasping and foaming at the mouth. He fell face first into the mush and began to messily shovel it into his mouth like a pig.

"Look at you. Fat old disgusting pig," the ginger tabby growled, glaring down at him with great contempt. "You do nothing, and you say nothing. You just eat and roll around in your own filth like a dog making its own dirt. You're a disgrace to all of FireClan."

He spat at the floor before turning away and leaving.

But as soon as the ginger tabby left, Irontail smiled and flicked the stray strands of his fur back. He picked up the bowl of mush and assumed a much more dignified position and continued with eating. No one was around to see him, yet he didn't mind if they did.

Instead of collapsing from the isolation, he was keeping his mind well by thoughts of peace. He had thoughts of Bearclaw redeeming himself and coming back to the good side, as well as good thoughts of seeing his son Wolfcloud in StarClan. These were enough for Irontail to wait until the time was right.

**...**

Ashfeather and his friends had stopped at the nearby town the next day. The small FireClan town named Golden Tree Town was located in the mountains next to a cliff overlooking a river. The four cats had stopped in town for some lunch at a restaurant, which sold cooked animals there. Goldwing carried a roast chicken in his jaws, Silverheart had a smoked salmon, and Nightfoot was holding a roast rabbit by the foot.

But Ashfeather, who had took a roasted bullfrog, pushed it away, not feeling hungry. He was still upset about not being any help from the night before. So the WaterClan warrior got up from his spot and stalked away, observing the mountains in the distance.

"You know...these cats have no clue they were gonna get roasted last night," Goldwing stated.

"Yeah," Nightfoot added, tearing into a dumpling she ordered. "But you know what I hate about being disguised? It's not getting the hero praise anymore. I miss all the lovin'."

Ashfeather listened to this and snarled bitterly, "Oh, boo hoo for the poor warriors! I'm surprised even great heroes feel rejection!"

Silverheart gave him a stern glare. "Ashfeather, what the hell is your problem? You haven't even eaten your roast bullfrog yet!"

"It's just..." Ashfeather began, trying to find the words. "It's just...all three of you can do this awesome Bending stuff like putting out forest fires and flying around and making other stuff fly. I can't fly around like you, okay? I can't do anything..." he finished sadly.

"That's not true," Silverheart told him gently, her dark blue gaze softening. "We can't read a map like you!"

Nightfoot nodded. "And I can't _even _read!"

"Yeah, and who's better at keeping us three laughing with sarcastic remarks?" Goldwing added. Pawing at Silverheart's soft tail and waving to it, he meowed, "I mean, look at Silverheart's tail! What's up with that?"

The white tabby she-cat looked to him nervously, trying to wrap her tail around her forepaws. She blushed as she asked, "What? What's wrong with my tail?"

Goldwing looked apologetic as he mewed, "Nothing's wrong! I just wanted to help Ashfeather! And your tail's beautiful!"

That made Silverheart blush even more.

Ashfeather sighed. "Thanks for the effort, but all three of you are amazing and special, but I'm not. I'm just the regular cat in our little Clan."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Silverheart mewed kindly, padding over to lay a paw on his broad shoulder. "But I hope you know we don't see you that way."

Then she paused as she took her paw away, "I know something that'll make you feel better."

"Really?"

**...**

"SHOPPING TRIP!"

Ashfeather was dancing on his hind paws, squealing like an apprentice on their first day out. His friends had just taken him to a place he wanted to go to: a weapon shop. The black tom leapt into the air for joy again before dashing into the shop, the others following him.

_Maybe I can get a little something to refresh my battling skills._

Once inside, Ashfeather began studying the various weapons housed inside. Many weapons in the shop included swords, maces, daggers, bows, arrows, and staffs. Ashfeather tried to find out which one he liked, but he wasn't too sure yet. One weapon he did find was a nunchaku.

"Hey, how about these?" he asked himself, taking the nunchaku from the shelf. He began making strange moves as he twirled them around, yowling, "Hoi-ya! Skadoosh!"

But he accidentally hit himself in the head and fell over, knocking over a few weapon poles on the rack. This made Nightfoot flinch a bit at the mess before the gray she-cat went over to see her former mentor. Silverheart was busy fitting some battle claws on her paws and swiping them at the air like an owl.

"So what do you think?"

Ashfeather and Silverheart turned to see Goldwing with quite an astounding suit of armor on. He was wearing an extremely artificial and complex suit of heavy shiny armor. And he had a cocky grin on his face as he added, "Pretty cool, huh?"

Silverheart did not say anything, but she did have a startled look on her face. Goldwing ignored that look as he went on, "Now all I need is a storm blade."

"Storm blade?" Silverheart asked, tilting her head to one side. "What's a storm blade?"

"It's where I get a dagger handle," the Avatar Cat explained. "And I just swing this around and Bend air out like a blade." As he explained, he raised up a dagger handle and swung it around, making wind noises.

The white tabby she-cat merely nodded. "Yeah...sure."

Just then, the heavy armor creaked and began to fall over. Goldwing, unable to move anything but his forelegs, started to panic. Silverheart tried to keep him from falling, but the Avatar Cat and the armor hit the floor with a loud thud, accidentally pulling Silverheart down with them. They were now touching noses and blushing before Silverheart quickly got up.

Goldwing seemed to have noticed this, for he muttered, "Eh...never mind. I'll stick with what I got now."

Ashfeather watched the Avatar Cat get up slowly before going back to the weapons. _Now which one is right for me? _So he went right to work to trying out each weapon.

First, he tried the first weapon: a pole weapon with a blade the end called a guandao. He swung it to one side, swung it over his head, and twirled it in a circle. But the weapon flew up towards the ceiling like a blind bat, making Ashfeather whistle innocently. This wasn't the right weapon.

Next, Ashfeather dragged an enormous metal club from a rag and across the floor. He groaned as he tried to lift it, but he lost his grip and fell away. This wasn't the right one either.

Then he tried some other things: chopping the air with two swords and making noises, spinning a chain around but wrapping it around him, running with a wobbly spear, and using an assassin's needle as a toothpick. But so far, these weapons didn't seem to reach out to him as well as his old boomerang and machete. He had to try something else.

Suddenly, something shiny got Ashfeather's eye. The black tom turned towards a sword rack on the wall, and he noticed a great red sword framed and positioned above the others. This showed all the details of the hilt and scabbard, a griffin depicted on the sheath.

"Oooo..." Ashfeather crooned, examining and feeling the sword. "Oh yeah. Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about."

As the others gathered around it, the tabby shopkeeper spoke up, "You have a good eye there. That's an original from Shang Tsung, the greatest sword master and sword maker in FireClan history. He lives in that big chateau up the road from here. If you wanna visit him, you should swing by his place soon."

With that done, the tabby padded away.

"That's it!" Goldwing had a big smile on his face. "Ashfeather, that's what you need!"

"A sword?" Ashfeather asked.

Goldwing rolled his dark gray eyes. "Not just the sword. You need a mentor." As Ashfeather took the sword down to examine it more, the AirClan warrior went on, "To have a good mentor sharpens your skills some more. Why not train with this Shang Tsung?"

"He's right," Silverheart spoke up. "If it weren't for Snowstorm, my WaterBending wouldn't be as great as it is now. Every warrior cat needs a good mentor."

"I learned from the mammoths," Nightfoot added. As they all looked at her, she added, "They don't talk, but they're good mentors."

Ashfeather pulled out the sword and examined the blade. "It'll be nice to be a swordfighter as a mentor," he muttered, recalling his love for weapons. "All right, I'll go have a talk with him."

He could imagine training under the tutelage of this cat in the ways of the sword. And he could imagine the looks of pride on his friends and his father about what he was doing. But even more, he could show his new skills to Echo In Quiet Storm, his mate from the Tribe Of Heavy Roses.

_I guess a sword user CAN make it in this world!_

**...**

A ray of sunlight shone through a small window. Irontail laid down on his back on straw mat in the corner, paws behind his head. Waiting for the right moment, he waited until the guard from the other day passed by his cell.

Then it was time.

Right away, Irontail began to do a series of sit ups, grunting as he did so. Sit ups were quite hard for a cat to do, but Irontail was a master at this. The former FireClan warrior did not want to stop this unless a guard came by.

**...**

Ashfeather couldn't help but to gaze up at the chateau, which was located on top of a large bluff. He stopped at the front gates, unable to hide his joy in actual sword training. Today, he would train hard and not rest until his warrior skills were sharpened by swords.

So he grabbed a knocker in his jaws and tapped it against the large door a few times. He waited a moment and looked around him, but there was no answer. Ashfeather knocked on the door and waited yet again. Still receiving no answer, Ashfeather became frustrated and began tossing the knocker at the door, banging it loudly and frantically.

For a moment, no one answered him. Then the right door was finally opened by a fat gray tom, briefly scaring Ashfeather.

"Can I help you?" the fat gray tom asked in an apathetic tone.

Ashfeather scolded himself for being frightened like a little kit. So he composed himself and began to meow, "I've come to train with the master."

The fat gray tom replied, "The master usually turns away from almost anyone. What do you have to prove your worth?"

"Uh..." Ashfeather didn't know he didn't have anything to prove his worth. So he just gave up.

"_Right,_" the fat gray tom sighed. "Let's get this over with."

He kinked his head inside, indicating for Ashfeather to come inside. The WaterClan warrior tom warily stepped through the gate as the butler closed the door. As Ashfeather and the butler went on their way inside up to the shortest tower, the butler knocked on a door as it opened up all by itself.

They stepped into a large room with a red carpet and tall windows, giving a view of the valley down below. Rows of lit candles were placed on both sides of the windows. And a cat, who was supposedly Shang Tsung, was sitting at a small table in front of the windows, his back to the two cats. He had a tortoiseshell pelt (which was rare for a tom) with long ears and supposedly no tail, not even a stump. The tom was holding a calligraphy brush carefully in his forepaw and dipping it into a tray of ink, carefully holding his long leg fur with his other paw.

As Ashfeather padded forward, he swallowed first before going on. "Greetings, master. My name is Ashfeather, and I wish to be trained in the way of the sword."

"Ashfeather?" There was a hint of surprise in Shang Tsung's voice. "That's an unusual name for a FireClan cat."

"Oh really?" Ashfeather did not want to tell him that he was a WaterClan cat, or he would not get trained. So he went on, "Uh...where I come from...the FireClan colonies...it's a normal cat name. For the colonies."

Shang Tsung kept writing as he meowed, "Ah...let me guess. You've come many sky-lengths from your little camp where you're the best sword master in town. And you _think_ you deserve to learn from The Master."

Ashfeather shuffled his forepaws. "Actually, I've been all over the world."

"Yep, here we go," the tortoiseshell tom replied shrewdly yet amusingly.

"And I know one thing for sure," Ashfeather went on, lowering himself down to his belly; it was a way to show respect. "I have a lot to learn."

Shang Tsung turned to him, revealing bright hazel eyes and a scar running from his nose to his brows. "It seems you're not doing a good job on selling yourself out."

_Damn! How does he know that? _But Ashfeather ignored that as he finished, "I know. Your butler told me the exact same thing. It that when I met you, I would have to prove my worth. But...I just don't know if I AM worthy."

He lowered himself more to the ground so that his belly fur brushed against the floor. When he looked up into Shang Tsung's eyes, there was some humor in those bright hazel spheres. Was he going to say yes and train him?

"Hmmm...I see," Shang Tsung meowed, smiling a bit as he looked down at his sword in front of him. "Well, let's find out how worthy you can be."

As that, he took the sword in his jaws and tossed it down to Ashfeather. The end embedded itself into the carpet before him, making the black tom step back and gap at it in awe. Looking amused at the awed look on his face, Shang Tsung leapt down from the table and turned to face him.

Nodding down, he answered, "Very well then. I will train you. And if you wish, just call me Shang."

Ashfeather felt a wide smile come across his face. At last...he could now improve sword skills and be better at many things. He had found a mentor at last.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

After some schooling lectures, Ashfeather and Shang went out to the sword fighting ring in front of the building. It was one of the first things seen by any visitor to Shang's mansion. Ashfeather was now wearing an almost identical outfit to Shang: a red cloak that covered most of his body except for his head, paws, and tail.

Shang began meowing, "The first thing to learn is that your weapon is an extension of yourself." He unsheathed the sword in his jaws and began performing a sword form, going on, "You must think of it as another part of your own body."

"Like a tooth?" Ashfeather asked.

"Actually...think of it as an extended forepaw," the tortoiseshell tom replied.

_Wow. That's just like what Echo told me! _Ashfeather thought with wonder. _But how the hell does he know that? _He even meowed out loud, "That's kinda like what my mate told me."

Shang raised a brow. "Really? I guess great minds think alike. Anyways, the sword is a simple tool, but in the paws of a master, it becomes a nifty weapon, and just as the imagination is vast, so too are the options of the sword." He finished by unsheathing the sword.

Ashfeather smiled and nodded quickly. He didn't want to miss a chance to learn from the master, and he promised himself to pay attention.

**...**

Goldwing raised a forepaw in the air and swatted it down in a bored way. It was already noon, and he, Silverheart, and Nightfoot hadn't had much to do since Ashfeather was away. Besides hunting, there wasn't much to do. Instead, all they could do was lay down on their backs in a circle and watch the clouds roll by.

Even the other animals were getting bored too. Tobias, after dropping a slippery golden fish to the ground, he walked over to Silverheart and began preening himself. And Archie was now so bored that he had fallen asleep under the makeshift roof.

"Hey guys," Goldwing sighed. "What do you wanna do today?"

Nightfoot shrugged. "I dunno. I'm bushed. I already picked my nose...twice!"

Goldwing looked over at her with a look of revolt. "_Twice_?"

"Yeah," the gray she-cat replied. "The first time, it was just to get rid of any dirt, but the second time was for the _sweet_ picking sensation."

"Ashfeather's in charge of the schedule," Silverheart piped up, referring to Ashfeather's frantic schedule making. "I don't know what we _should _do today."

Nightfoot sat up to begin licking herself, muttering in between licks, "Plus, it's hot today."

"Yeah," Goldwing chuckled a bit, wanting to hear a good joke. "I mean, how hot it is?"

Silverheart suddenly ran her paw along Tobias' back, strands of feathers pulled up by her paw. Then she meowed with laugher, "It's so hot...it's so hot, Tobias is...shedding like Archie! How was that?"

But her joke received no laughs or applause. Instead, Goldwing sat up and started scratching one ear, muttering, "I guess jokes don't run much in the family, huh?"

"Oh, everyone's a critic!" Silverheart snorted, sighing.

Archie grunted in reply.

**...**

Irontail, during his spare time, was busy hanging upside down and doing crunches, panting with effort. Not many cats could do this, but he was hanging by his tail from the overhead bars like an opossum.

**(Author's Note: Wow. That was short!)**

**...**

The next lesson Ashfeather had to learn was how to write his name in calligraphy. He and Shang Tsung were sitting a table inside the building, tails hanging right on the edge of it. On the table was calligraphy paper and ink. Ashfeather had no idea what was going to happen next.

"The warrior practices a diversity of arts to keep his mind sharp and graceful," Shang explained as he flattened out some paper on the table. "The first you will learn is calligraphy. Now...write your name."

Then he delicately handed a brush to Ashfeather, who took it in his jaws. But instead of doing the writing right away, he brushed the bristles against the table, messing them up.

"So...writing my name will help me master the sword better?" Ashfeather finally asked.

Shang took the brush and positioned it correctly in the younger cat's mouth. "When you write your name on there, you stamp the paper with your identity. You must learn to use your sword to stamp your identity on a battlefield."

Nodding, Ashfeather held up the long fur on his other leg and prepared to write his name. Beside him, his master went on, "Remember, you cannot take back a stroke of the brush or a stroke of the sword. Whatever you do, it stays."

Ashfeather's forepaw shook and his fur fluffed out, the brush barely an inch above the paper. He flicked his tail about and placed the tip of the brush on his chin, thinking hard about what to do. Unknowingly to him, he was getting ink on his chin.

"You're getting ink on your face," Shang meowed. "Even though you have black fur, I can still see the ink on you."

"I am?" Ashfeather mewed. He looked down at the brush and muttered, "Huh. I _am. _So...it's about putting my identity on his paper, right?"

His master nodded.

So Ashfeather let a smile spread across his face as he bent his head down and proceeded to brush the ink over his face. The black tom pressed his face onto the paper and rolled his head around like a pig. Then he picked up the paper and showed it to his master, smiling cheerfully. On the paper was a large inkblot which loosely looked like a face.

Shang simply closed his eyes in response.

**...**

After that, Ashfeather ended up facing off against Stout in the sword fighting ring, both wearing training equipment and holding wooden swords. Shang Tsung was at the top of the steps leading to the building, watching. Stout licked the tip of his nose with his tongue as he waited for his foe to make a move.

Ashfeather leapt at Stout and plunged his sword outward. Stout readily deflected the attack and knocked the sword from Ashfeather's jaws. Ashfeather ran away in fright, and Stout chased after him, whacking him in the rear with the wooden sword. This left Shang to sigh heavily.

**...**

The blindfold Shang Tsung gave Ashfeather seemed to be working its magic. But the blindfold made Ashfeather stumble over rocks and trip over fallen bamboo trunks. Yet his master helped him by laying a tail on his shoulder as if guiding a blind cat through the world.

"Landscape painting teaches a warrior to hold the lay of the land in his mind," the tortoiseshell tom explained, stopping Ashfeather and taking off his blindfold. "And in battle, you only have an instant to take everything in."

When Ashfeather freed himself from the blindfold, his eyes widened as he stared at the scene with an amazed smile. The two cats were standing before a majestic view of a mighty river flowing into a series of waterfalls that dropped into a canyon. Ashfeather could just watch this forever if he wanted to...if they didn't stay on schedule, of course.

But Shang pressed a forepaw to the side of his head and turned him away, making him sit in front of a table with a piece of paper, paint, and paint brushes. Ashfeather supposed that he had to do this first before watching the view.

"Now, paint it," was all Shang meowed.

Ashfeather gaped at him in disbelief, unable to hear what he said. Did he really expect him to paint it all in a few minutes or so? But he wanted to be a good sword master, and he would obey even the toughest orders to become one.

So he turned to look at the waterfall, but Shang turned his head back, adding, "And don't peek."

The tortoiseshell tom prowled away as Ashfeather took a brush and began to paint the intricate view. No matter how many times his master would tell him, he desperately wanted to look over at the landscape for help. But he controlled himself in time, not wanting to get scolded by his new master.

When he was finished with painting, he looked back to Shang Tsung. The tortoiseshell sword master was sitting at the edge of a cliff, his eyes closed in silent meditation.

"Finished!" Ashfeather told him cheerfully.

Shang turned around to the spot, his hazel eyes narrowing before he saw the picture. But what he saw made his eyes widen at what Ashfeather had done.

Ashfeather had spent his time drawing a somewhat childish and colorful drawing of the scenery. It bore little resemblance to the real landscape, including a rainbow and a sun with a smiley face.

"You added a rainbow..." Shang meowed flatly.

Ashfeather nodded. "Is that okay with you?"

Shang raised a paw and slapped it against his own forehead, muttering something not heard.

**...**

Once again, Ashfeather and Stout were facing off in the sword fighting ring the training gear on their pelts. Ashfeather leapt forward as he and Stout began their practice fight. During this part of training, Ashfeather did much better than he had before.

Since claws were also allowed in sword fights (practice or not), Stout lashed a paw out, which Ashfeather dodged by ducking. He grunted as he parried a strike and attempted to swing his wooden sword down, feeling adrenaline rush in him. But at that moment, he was distracted.

"Ashfeather."

It was Shang Tsung. The tortoiseshell tom was watching him still from the steps he had sat on earlier. Ashfeather looked over at his mentor, giving Stout the opportunity to circle behind him and kick him in the back. This made Ashfeather growl as he made a slightly painful fall to the ground.

"Concentrate on what you're doing," Shang called.

Ashfeather frowned and dropped his head, giving his mentor a halfhearted smile. He would have to train harder than before if he was going to pass these tests.

**...**

After that bit of practice, Shang Tsung led Ashfeather to the top of a stairway leading down to an empty tiled area. A small statue of an ancient Clan warrior was seen near the back of the area. Ashfeather was quite amazed at how much Shang Tsung knew about the ancient Clans.

"Rock-gardening teaches a warrior to operate his settings and use them to his advantage," Shang explained.

"Hm...manipulate them to my advantage..." Ashfeather began to muttered, thinking it over. Then, as soon as he started thinking, he got an idea.

To Shang's surprise, the black tom ran down the steps to outside the manor, seeing rocks before him. He began pushing a rock the size of a dog and tried his best to push it up the steps, groaning at the strain. Seeing a sheet of moss lying on a rock, Ashfeather moved over to it and examined its texture before taking it and running back to the other side of the area. He threw the moss on the huge stone and laid down on it, sighing in relaxation.

He looked over to see Shang nodding at him lying on the nest of rocks and moss. And just then, Stout came walking up from behind his master, looking up and gasping in shock. Stones were scattered all over the tiled floor, creating a mess.

"Hey there," Ashfeather mewed happily. "Mind getting a drink for me? Thanks."

Stout gaped at him and turned to face his master. Shung shrugged and mewed, "I'll take a drink too. One with a lime in it."

The fat gray cat sighed in resignation, hung his head, and stalked off to fetch the drinks.

After the drinks were fetched and drunk, Ashfeather and Stout were now dueling in the sword fighting ring again, Shang watching from the side. The two toms thrust and parried a few strikes. Ashfeather swung his practice sword in a circle and tried to strike Stout's leg, but the fat gray cat pulled his leg up and avoided the attack. Then Stout swung his practice sword at Ashfeather, who blocked it with ease. Ashfeather returned the strike and was also parried, continuing his offense with four quick thrusts.

Stout blocked all the attacks and tried to attack Ashfeather. But he missed, and Ashfeather used this chance to slip the blade of his wooden sword under Stout's jaws and fling the wooden sword from it. The gray tom was shocked and lowered himself down in defeat as Ashfeather leapt at him and planted his paw on the side of Stout's neck, ending the duel. Ashfeather stepped away from him and bowed low to Shang Tsung while Stout frowned crossly at him.

Shang bowed low back to Ashfeather before lapping up a drink from a cup with a lime slice stuck on it.

**...**

Irontail panted hard while doing push-ups on the soles of his pads, clapping his paws together at the top of each push. He could hear the warden eating a piece of rabbit, but Irontail knew that he would hear the noises in time. Then he heard them: the sounds of pawsteps had reached his ears; the poon had apparently heard this and had come to investigate.

_Patience, _he told himself as he got into place to fool this cat.

"What the hell is goin' on in here?" the warden growled, looking in through the barred window in the door.

Irontail was sitting against the wall and lazily clapping his paws side to side with a delirious look on his face. He could hear the warden tut and shake his head as if he saw something nasty.

"Crazy old bastard," was all he growled before he left.

Then Irontail clapped a few more times and smiled when he was sure the warden was gone. He ceased his clapping and pushed back a stray strand of fur hanging over his flat face.

**...**

After a bit of doing nothing all day, they had decided on where to go after Ashfeather finished his training. They had a map of FireClan laid out before them, and Goldwing and Silverheart were tracing where they were at. Nightfoot was lying to the side, quietly munching on a hare she dug out of its burrow.

Silverheart planted a forepaw on one spot and meowed, "So where do you think we go next? I saw we start from here."

"No, we're still over there," Goldwing insisted, pointing to another spot.

"You hare-brains have NO idea what you're doing," Nightfoot called, tossing the hare bones away. Looking away, she muttered, "...I miss Ashfeather now."

"Oh really?" Silverheart mewed with a slight smile, and Goldwing knew what she was going to do. "Well, if you miss him that much, why don't you marry him?"

Once again, her joke turned out to be a dud as the two cats groaned. Silverheart looked frustrated now at having her jokes being groaned at.

Nightfoot rolled over onto her side, turning away from her mentor while letting out another groan. A little green grasshopper hopped towards the cats, landing on Goldwing's nose. The tiger-striped tom simply blew it away with a quick blast of wind from his breath, groaning with boredom.

_Let his training be done already._

**...**

"You've shown good promise on your first day of training," Shang Tsung meowed after yet another practice spar.

Ashfeather nodded before hanging his head, knowing he hadn't been perfect. He hadn't been expected to do it right the first time, but he felt like he messed some parts up.

"You're right. But I thought I messed up in every lesson," he muttered.

Shang nodded, his hazel eyes glittering. "Yes you did. But you messed up in a remarkable way. I think you're ready for your own sword."

Hearing this, Ashfeather leapt to his paws, kneading them on the ground excitedly. "Really? You really mean that? Does that mean you're giving me one of your own?"

"No."

Ashfeather groaned regretfully and slumped down. Now how was he going to get his sword? He had no idea how he would even get it anyways.

"Your sword must be an extension of yourself," Shang went on, noticing his look. "And that's why I'm deciding to let you make your own."

_My own? _Ashfeather thought, happily looking up at him. _My own sword? Great StarClan! That's so...awesome!_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Ashfeather was brought inside to choose the right materials for his new sword. Weapons were hung all about the room as Ashfeather and Shang Tsung sat at a table. On the table were several bricks of steel, bricks of steel that looked powerful.

"Choosing the right material is the most important step in crafting a sword," Shang told him with utmost seriousness. "Trust your steel with your life. Choose carefully."

So Ashfeather took two bricks and weighs them in each paw. But to him, these didn't seem to be the right ones. So the black tom set them down and took another brick, sniffing and biting the brick to test its quality. However, the taste of it made him wrench away; that and it almost broke his teeth.

Ashfeather put the brick down and put a paw on his chin as he started thinking thoughtfully. His master had told him that a sword had to be an extension of himself, part of himself that could not be taken away. That meant that he had to use his own materials to create his sword.

_What about that meteor? _A voice in his head mewed to him.

_The meteor? _Then Ashfeather realized it. _Of course! Why didn't I see it?_

So he turned to Shang and meowed, "Master, will it be okay if I leave to fetch the material I need for my sword?"

"I don't see why not," his master answered, smiling. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Ashfeather nodded and ran outside the palace, the tortoiseshell tom following him with his gaze. When he made it to the rocky hills, Ashfeather lifted his nose in the air to find the materials he needed. Then he smelled a faint scent of rock and fire; this had to be the meteor. But he needed some help with that.

So he sniffed the air again, his jaws open to drink in the scents around them. But he really didn't have to sniff around that long. He found bundles of ginger, white, and gray lying around a map and fast asleep. Archie and Tobias were already snoozing together under the makeshift roof.

"What the-?" Nightfoot had raised her head and looked over to where Ashfeather was standing. "Hey, Ashfeather's back!"

Quickly, Goldwing and Silverheart rose to their paws and followed Nightfoot out of their camp. They climbed over the rocks easily and ran over to Ashfeather' throwing him into a big hug.

"Ack!" he groaned at the pressure of their combined weight. When they got off him, he gasped, "What in StarClan's name are you doing?"

Goldwing let out a chirping mew of joy as a reply.

"You're back," Nightfoot mewed calmly, yet she looked happy to see him.

"We missed you so much!" Silverheart purred, happy to see her brother.

"Say something funny!" Goldwing purred.

Ashfeather tilted his head to one side. "Funny? Funny how?"

This made Goldwing and Silverheart laughing warmly. Ashfeather turned to Nightfoot and asked, "What the hell is up with them?"

Nightfoot shrugged and looked away. "I dunno. I think they missed you a lot or something. But I didn't care that much." But he could see her blushing just a bit.

Then Ashfeather started telling his friends of what Shang Tsung told him about making his own sword. He topped it off by telling them of what he was going to use to make the sword. At first, this raised a lot of confusion from the three other cats, but they slowly started to understand. So all four took off to try and find the crater again.

It didn't take them that long, however. They climbed over to the edge of the crater created the night before and stared down at the meteorite at the bottom of the crater. It was gigantic, about the size of Archie, and very smoky dark gray. And this meteor had the best materials Ashfeather could use.

**...**

Irontail sat alone in his cell, looking through the bars in the ceiling. He wondered if Bearclaw was really enjoying his life as the deputy, something he had wanted to see. But by the sounds of it, it seemed to have had a lot of pressure on him. If there was some way he could help him after all those moons...

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then he opened them right away. Irontail leaned forward and put his head on the floor, his legs rising into the air as he stood on his forepaws. Panting heavily from this, Irontail began to perform paw-stand push-ups.

_StarClan give me true strength._

**...**

AvatarClan began working together to help Ashfeather with his sword. Ashfeather, Goldwing, and Silverheart were pushing the meteorite up the slope to Shang Tsung's mansion. Nightfoot was behind the meteorite, pushing it forward with her EarthBending. Finally, they managed to heave the meteorite all the way to the mansion's large doors.

Quickly, Ashfeather ran to the doors and banged on the doors frantically. A mottled paw opened one of the doors almost immediately as Shang Tsung stepped out.

"Hello again, Ashfeather," the tortoiseshell tom purred as he stepped out. Looking over the three other cats with him, he asked, "Who are these cats?"

"Oh, these cats are my friends, and one of them's my sister. Good ol' FireClan cats," Ashfeather explained. After Shang nodded to them, he went on, "Hey, you think we can make a sword out of a meteorite?"

Shang Tsung padded up to the meteorite and rested his hind paws on it, feeling it by pressing his pads against its hard black surface. His hazel eyes widened with surprise and pride as he got down and faced his new apprentice.

Ashfeather was pleased when his master meowed, "Of course. We'll make a sword unlike any other!"

So the five cats dragged the meteor to a fiery forge. Right away, Ashfeather started to shovel coal into it as Shang and Stout carried a large sledge hammer to him. He held a chisel against the meteorite while Stout nailed it, Shang in the back, completed by Ashfeather tapping the chisel with a smaller hammer. A piece of the meteorite broke off and fell down to the floor. The dark-furred tom took a moment to pant before they got back to work.

The next thing Ashfeather got was a wooden bucket filled with the meteorite remains. Stout took the bucket and brought it over to the forge. At once, Ashfeather started working on the bellows diligently. He could see Silverheart and Goldwing peeking in at him from around the corner, but he couldn't stop to talk with them.

The bucket was now sitting in the fires of the forge. Ashfeather had fallen asleep for a short bit, wanting to rest after his hard work. He woke up and looked behind him at the forge, rushing over and resuming shoveling in coal while Shang Tsung watched from outside. He carefully pulled the bucket from the forge by iron tongs and carefully positioned the liquid space metal over a mold of a blade, pouring it in as the red hot metal began being hammered against a stone. Shang Tsung grabbed one end of the hot blade and looked carefully at it.

_I sure hope this works! _Ashfeather thought excitedly, as if he was a kit all over again,

Finally, his tortoiseshell-pelted master nodded as he dipped the blade in a trough of water. The blade made the water bubble and boil as it hissed and cooled down, turning black instead of the usual silver. Ashfeather was amazed; this sword was completely unique like his skills.

_Blessed StarClan! This is great!_

**...**

After that, all the cats went back to the main building, going into the main chamber. Ashfeather was sitting in front of Shang Tsung, waiting to hear what he had to say. His friends sat behind him while Stout stood behind Shang, the black meteor sword in his jaws.

"When you first came here, you were very unsure of yourself," Shang Tsung began. "You even seemed down. But I saw something in you: a heart as strong as a LionClan cat and twice as big. And as we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me. No, it certainly wasn't."

Ashfeather looked down in shame. What was it that he lacked?

But Shang went on, "You have shown me something much beyond that. Creativity, flexibility, and intelligence...these are the traits that define a great swords master. And these traits define you very well."

Stout bowed low to Shang and handed him the sword. Then the tortoiseshell tom unsheathed the sword, showing its black blade, sheathed the sword, and gave it to Ashfeather. He purred, "You told me you didn't know if you were worthy, but you are more worthy than any cat I have ever trained."

However, at that, Ashfeather felt ashamed at what he had said. This reminded him of when he and his friends were apprentices, when they had to go through Rock Dodging. Goldwing had hidden a map to Iguana bay from Ashfeather and Silverheart, making Ashfeather angry at him. But what was even more important was...Goldwing had been trusted with the mark of the trusted, a mark of being worthy.

_But I'm not worthy. I lied to him about being a FireClan cat._

"I'm sorry, Master," he mewed, looking up. "But you're wrong. I'm not worthy. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not from FireClan; I'm from the Southern WaterClan." Overlooking his friends gawking at him with shock and disbelief, he went on, "I lied so that I could learn the way of the sword from you. I'm sorry."

Then he picked his sword up and held it in front of him for Shang to take. But instead, he just turned away from him, mewing, "I'm sorry too."

Then it happened.

As quick as a jackrabbit, the tortoiseshell tom turned back around and swung his own sword at Ashfeather. But the black tom ducked and used his sheathed sword to block a thrust from Shang. His friends got up and tried to run forth to protect Ashfeather, but he raised his tail to stop them.

"No, guys," he mewed, making them sit back down. "This is my fight...and mine alone."

**...**

Irontail pretended to watch blankly as the warden approached the bars of his cell, carrying a tray of food. Playing his act right, he lowered himself down on his belly, screwing up his face to make the other think he was insane. He even let drool run down his beard-like neck fur.

"You used to be the pride of FireClan. Our top senior warrior. The Griffin of the West. Now look at you," the warden growled, dropping the food to the floor. Irontail grabbed a green apple from behind the bars in time to hear him snarl on, "Look at what you've become."

Iroh watched the warden leave and stood straight up again. He put the fruit to his mouth and held it in his teeth as he began to brush the blanket off his pelt. Cat hairs fell off with it, and the thick folded sheet that was covering his belly fell to the floor.

Irontail could see a mirror from across him and looked into it. Even though he knew it, he could hardly believe what he had become: incredibly muscular with no traces of fat left, his fur shining silver in a ray of sunlight through the roof.

He took a big bite from the apple before letting it drop to the floor. Then Irontail jumped up and grabbed a bar above his head with one forepaw. In between exercises, he would take another bite of the apple before resuming his one-pawed pulls ups.

**...**

Goldwing, Silverheart, Nightfoot, and Stout watched from the upper part of the main building as Ashfeather and Shang Tsung squared off in the fighting ring. Ashfeather glared blue daggers at the tortoiseshell, hardly believing he would make a big deal of something like this. Shang glared back as if thinking the same thing while the others watched nervously.

_If he wants a fight, he'll have one!_

Shang Tsung leapt forward and began his attack, striking four times with his claws. Ashfeather parried the blows and stabbed at Shang, who moved his head out of the way and stabbed at the black cat. Ashfeather swayed back and avoided the attack, and Shang swept his sword at his legs, but Ashfeather leapt over it and lunged at him, thrusting his sword forward. Shang Tsung parried Ashfeather's blade and hit him with the butt of his sword's hilt. Ashfeather was knocked back a few pawsteps and slid over the floor.

Ashfeather flipped himself back and grabbed a post of a small bridge to regain his balance. He quickly climbed onto the post and jumped to the other one just as Shang thrust his sword at him. The tortoiseshell tom spun around and tried to slice at Ashfeather's hind paw, but he leapt away to the other rail of the bridge. Shang stabbed at him again, but the young cat jumped off the rail and rolled over to the side. His master struck again, but Ashfeather ducked under the blade just in time, blocking strikes as he gained distance and hopped back on the railing. He jumped away to the end of the bridge as Shang ran after him.

Shang Tsung looked impressed. "Excellent! Using your greater agility against an older foe. That is a smart move."

He leapt at Ashfeather again, striking and pushing him up large stone stairs. Ashfeather blocked all the attacks, but the force pushed him against the wall of the stairway. He deflected a thrust from Shang upward and ducked as the blade sliced through a curtain above his shoulder.

Shang swung his sword around his head and body in two circles. Ashfeather just barely dodged his blade, rolling to the right. He spun around, leapt off the ground, and pushed off the wall with his hind paws, propelling himself forward with his sword drawn-out. Shang Tsung blocked the attack, and Ashfeather rolled across the stair to the other wall, climbing to the top.

"Very good use of your terrain...fighting from high ground," Shang stopped to purr.

Ashfeather swung at his master below him, who parried and swung at him. Shang thrust his own sword at Ashfeather, who pinned the blade under his own, weighted down under his forepaws. The rogue tom tried to wrench his sword free, but he couldn't. He leaned forward and pushed his sword upward, throwing his foe off. Ashfeather grunted as he stumbled back into a tall stalk of bamboo.

Ashfeather looked up fearfully, fibers of head fur falling over his face. Shang lunged at him, but he ducked as his master sliced the bamboo above his head. The black tom ran into the bamboo thicket, slicing through as many stalks of bamboo as he could. As Shang Tsung chased after him, the stalks all began to fall, but he skillfully cut through the bamboo.

Ashfeather desperately ran through the bamboo, suddenly getting an idea. He grabbed a stalk in his jaws, turned it, and pulled at it. He let go just as Tsung caught up, causing the bamboo pole to whip back at him. The tortoiseshell tom cut through the stalk with his claws and began to strike at Ashfeather, who deflected the attack and ran off again, grabbing two bamboo stalks in his jaws.

Shang ran after him, calling, "Yes! Use the environment! Make it fight for you!"

Ashfeather let go of the stalks. They whipped around at Shang Tsung, who sliced through them with his claws. Ashfeather kept trying to run out of the bamboo and back to the sword fighting ring, yowling in terror with his master not far behind. He took a frightened a look behind, but Shang had run off to the side and out of sight, making him sigh.

But by the time the young warrior looked ahead, Shang was already in front of him and poked his sword out in front of Ashfeather, trying to make him run into it. However, he leaned forth and slid under the blade. Ashfeather stood back up and stumbled forward, stabbing his sword into the ground to stop his fall.

Using his momentum, he swung his sword and paw back around, flinging dirt and dust at Shang Tsung. The dirt hit the tortoiseshell tom in the face, blinding him. Instead of pawing at his face, though, he spun around and positioned his sword before him to defend any sneak attacks, trying to blink the dirt out of his eyes.

"Very resourceful," Shang Tsung purred with amusement, turning his head and listening for any sounds.

Ashfeather nervously slid his claws out defensively. He then slowly tried to sneak away, careful not to make any noises that would give away his location. Unfortunately, he stepped on a lone bamboo twig on the ground, snapping it. Shang turned his head towards him when he heard it.

_Bullshit!_

He twirled his sword around into an offensive position and charged forward. Ashfeather took a step back as his master closed in and slashed at him. The WaterClan warrior blocked the attack, but Shang Tsung caught his blade with his own. He pushed his sword around in two circles and flung Ashfeather's sword out of his jaws. Ashfeather watched in horror as the sword stabbed into the ground a bit away.

Ashfeather was not cut by the swinging bade, but he was hit in the chest by Shang Tsung's head-butt, knocking him on his back. He looked up fearfully as his master turned about and pointed his sword at the black cat's head. Yowls told him that Goldwing, Silverheart, and Nightfoot had leapt from the building to the ground and ran towards them.

To their surprise, Shang Tsung swung his sword away from Ashfeather, halting his friends. Then he purred, "You have done well, Ashfeather."

Ashfeather squinted at him curiously. His master wasn't going to kill him. Instead, he had spared him and praised him for his hard work. Shang Tsung flicked his ears towards Stout, who tossed the sheath of his sword towards him. Still blinded, Shang turned and thrust his sword up, letting the scabbard fly right onto the blade.

Sniffing, he chuckled, "I believe I am too old to battle the Avatar Cat."

"H-How'd you know I was the Avatar Cat?" Goldwing asked, sharing glances with the she-cats as they dropped their battle stances.

Ashfeather thought the same thing, standing up as Stout brought over a bowl of tea.

"Oh, I've been around a while. Once a cat stays here for a while, they pick things up," Shang replied, wiping the dirt off his face with his paws. After lapping up some tea, he turned towards Ashfeather and purred,_ "_Of course, I knew all along that Ashfeather was a WaterClan cat. You might want to think of a better FireClan cover name. Try 'Moss'. There's a million 'Mosses' out there."

All four cats nodded as if they understood. Then Silverheart asked, "But why would you want to train a WaterClan cat?"

The tortoiseshell tom replied, "The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one Clan, just like a species of prey doesn't belong in one piece of territory. Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all." He gave his sword to Stout, pulled Ashfeather's sword out from the ground, and gave it back to him."Ashfeather, continue your training on your own. If you stay on this path, one day, you will become an even better master than I."

Ashfeather couldn't find any words to express his gratitude, so he nodded and purred instead. Shang Tsung did the same thing, showing Ashfeather his joy at being his new mentor. And Goldwing and Silverheart smiled warmly at this while Nightfoot merely nodded.

**...**

Soon, it was time to go on their journey. Ashfeather was quite sad to not train with his new master anymore, but he understood. They had to get on with their journey to meet up with Emberstar for the invasion. However, he had enjoyed training in the way of the sword with Shang Tsung.

But as the group was leaving the mansion through the front gates, pawsteps were coming for them from behind.

"Wait." Everyone turned to see Stout stopping in front of them with something in his jaws. "The master wanted you to keep this, something to remember him by."

The fat gray tom dropped a brown bag down at Ashfeather's paws. Confused, Ashfeather bent his head low and picked it up in his jaws, bowing in farewell to Stout as the gray tom went back to the mansion. When he was gone, the black tom dug his paw into the bag and fished out a certain item that made him look down in surprise.

As the others crowded around him, Ashfeather mewed, "It's a Pai Sho tile."

"Not just any Pai Sho tile," Goldwing spoke up, pointing his paw to the tile. "It's a phoenix tile."

Silverheart padded forth to see it. "What does it mean?"

"I have no idea," Ashfeather replied as they watched the doors close. Those doors were clearly showing a phoenix design on the doors surrounding the FireClan symbol. "Ooh, that reminds me. Hey, Nightfoot. I thought you might like this. I bet you've never had a chance to Bend space earth before.

He pulled from his bag a chunk of the meteorite that was used to make his sword. Nightfoot's pale green eyes widened with amazement as she let it fall down into her paw. But the surprised look on the gray she-cat's voice quickly turned to joy.

"Sweetness!" she purred. "Check this out!"

The space earth was calmly floating above Nightfoot's pad. She shaped it quickly into a swirl, a star, and then a strange form of a sponge on legs.

**(Author's Note: Also known as HACK*SpongeBob*HACK!)**

Ashfeather gave her a look of pride as they began walking down the trail back to their camp. He was sure Nightfoot had noticed his smile even though she couldn't see at all.

"You know, I'm not sure if there really IS such thing as space earth," Silverheart meowed as they walked down the trail. "It can't be earth if it's not on our planet."

"Do you _have _to ruin everything?" Ashfeather groaned in mock despair.

The white tabby she-cat rolled her dark blue eyes. "I can't believe I missed you," she muttered.

Ashfeather purred.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Thank God that's done!**

**Katara: Yeah. Thank goodness! And by the way, your birthday's coming up this Saturday!**

**Aang: Do you know what you want for your birthday?**

**AvatarCat12: I know I'd like new books, new games, and new movies.**

**Aang: Sounds good to me!**

**Katara: By the way, would you like to say the review thing and the preview for The Sun-Drown Place? It's near your birthday after all.**

**AvatarCat12: Sure. (To the readers) Read and review! Those who do will get a virtual cookie cake with Chocolate Paradise ice cream! It has white chocolate ice cream, white chocolate chips, normal chocolate chips, and bits of Oreo cookie. Flames aren't allowed on here, but advice or constructive criticism is.**

**Preview: Bearclaw, Frostfire, Rose, and Aya head on over to Black Sand Island, where they decide to have fun while Darkstar is at a meeting. But while they spend some time there, they begin to feel things that should be brought out into the open. Meanwhile, Goldwing and his friends encounter a new enemy.**

**All three: See ya next time! Happy Earth Day!**


	5. The Sun Drown Place

**AvatarCat12: Once again, Aang and Katara are taking a break away from this chapter. So Zuko is here once again to help out with the commentaries. So welcome Zuko back here!**

**Zuko: (Enters the room) Thanks, Avatar Cat. Good to be here again. I wanted to come here to see how I really behaved on here.**

**AvatarCat12: Yep. And I heard you have a daughter on Legend Of Korra. And that you're still alive!**

**Zuko: Yeah. I heard it from Katara. I'm happy about it. So let's get this over with.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 doesn't own these two series. Never have, never will.**

**Summary: Bearclaw, Frostfire, Rose, and Aya head on over to Black Sand Island, where they decide to have fun while Darkstar is at a meeting. But while they spend some time there, they begin to feel things that should be brought out into the open. Meanwhile, Goldwing and his friends encounter a new enemy.**

**Uploading Date: May 9, 2012**

**Both: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Sun-Drown Place**_

Two large walruses burst out from the water, showing off their pearly white tusks. Behind them, they and four other walruses were pulling a large FireClan ferry through the warm sea. The two head walruses ducked their heard underwater and resurfaced, roaring loudly.

Bearclaw yawned loudly as he and Rose relaxed in the shade of the boat while Frostfire and Aya looked out to sea. Instead of patrolling or hunting for the day, he had to go with his sister and her friends to Black Sand Island, where they spent greenleaf as kits. They had to go, for Darkstar had to go to a vital meeting, a meeting that didn't involve his deputy or his most senior warrior...even though Frostfire wasn't old.

"I can't wait to see Black Sand Island!" Aya purred, resting on one of the outdoor sofas. "It'll be great to hang out on the beach and do nothing. And after that...maybe some more doing nothing."

At that, she laid down on the cushion and sighed, closing her eyes with a happy smile.

"Doing nothing's just a waste of time," Bearclaw growled, leaping down from the red cushions under the red canopy. He stared out at the ocean before going on, "We're just being forced to take a vacation on the island. I feel like a kit."

Frostfire rolled her yellow eyes. "Loosen up, will you, mouse-brain? Father just wants to meet up with his counselors without interfering. Don't take it personally."

Bearclaw felt a low growl in his throat almost aim at the black she-cat, but he swallowed it in time. He could not afford to start fights right now.

At that time, Aya mewed, "Hey Frostfire? Doesn't your family have a house on the island?"

"Yes," the former deputy replied. "Our family went there in greenleaf when we were kits."

"Wow!" the white she-cat purred. "That must've been fun!"

For a moment, Bearclaw looked down at his paws, remembering that time on the island. His loving mother Bearheart spent almost all her time with him and Frostfire. Even Darkstar had been unusually kind towards his kits, but that was a different story.

So he muttered, "That was around two years ago."

But he didn't say anymore, for he could see small docks and extravagant stilted FireClan beach cottages. He looked onwards to a small dock, where two twin figures stood. The FireClan boat entered the dock area, the walruses wheezing from the great weight they had to pull. All four FireClan cats looked out at the approaching Black Sand Island.

_Here we go, _Bearclaw sighed as he stood beside his mate.

The two cats standing on the dock were revealed to be two of Frostfire's mentors: Lo and Li, the two hairless tabby she-cats. The boat hadn't even had its rudder bump against the dock yet when the two elders padded forward to greet them.

"Welcome to Black Sand Island, young'uns," the she-cats purred, flicking their tails up to a small shabby beach cottage on the edge of a cliff.

The four FireClan cats looked up at it, looking displeased and skeptical. Bearclaw didn't like the look of that beach cottage; despite not being happy right now, he preferred his family's beach house. However, the four cats leapt down from the boat and followed the old she-cats up to where they were staying at for now.

Despite the looks on the outside, the inside looked nice. It had a decorative tropical room just behind a green curtained doorway through which Li/Lo stepped through. Frostfire was at the head of the pack, prowling skeptically into the room followed by Aya. As they all entered the room, Bearclaw and Rose looked around at the ornate trinkets, pelts brushing together.

Bearclaw opened his jaws to taste the air, but he snorted gruffly to get rid of the resulting stink. "Smells like elders in here."

"I wonder why," his mate muttered sarcastically.

Aya, meanwhile, was looking over at a painting of two pretty golden tabby she-cats sitting back to back in a balanced seductive pose. Those two she-cats reminded Bearclaw (with a pang of loneliness) of his mother Bearheart, but Bearheart was a light brown tabby, not golden. And the color reminded him of the Avatar Cat, whom he was sure was alive.

"Who are these she-cats?" Aya asked Lo and Li. "They're so beautiful!"

"Can't you tell?" they meowed at the same time, striking the same pose so that their rears were almost touching. "It's us!"

Bearclaw almost had the urge to hack up a furball at the sight of that while Rose covered his eyes. This was one scene he could not be able to un-see no matter how hard he tried. And by the silence of the room, he could tell that Frostfire and Aya were also stunned.

But when he opened his eyes and swallowed what he had to swallow, he leapt onto the maroon bed, curling his lip at the fashion. However, Aya seemed to like it, for she let out a squeal at the sight of it and leapt onto the bed. Bearclaw never knew what was up with this she-cat.

As Aya snuggled into the blankets on the bed, she purred, "I love this seashell blanket! It feels nice under my paws!"

Rose rolled her amber eyes. "Are you shitting me? It looks like the sun-drown place threw up all over it!"

If Aya had heard it, she would protest, but she didn't talk about it. The white she-cat seemed to be too busy admiring the bedspread, her tail twitching to and fro. But the old she-cats started to say something again, so Bearclaw turned back around to listen.

"We know you're upset that you had to come here," Li began meowing. "But Black Sand Island is a magical place. Keep an open mind.

"Give it a chance..." Lo added.

"...and it can help you know yourselves and each other," they mewed together, taking smooth stones off the table and rubbing them. "The island and its beach have a special way of smoothing even the most ragged edges and calm the angriest hearts."

Frostfire merely yawned as Aya leapt down the bed to join the others. Bearclaw, meanwhile, had no idea what the two old hags were talking about. But then, as soon as he kept watching, the old she-cats did the same pose _yet again _and cried, "It's beach time!"

Now Bearclaw really felt like he was going to cough up a huge furball as Rose covered his eyes. Quickly, the large dark brown tabby tom raced over to the balcony and threw up, ignoring the weird looks the others gave him. If this was what the weekend would be like, he would not be able to survive.

_StarClan give me endurance!_

**...**

AvatarClan had already left Shang Tsung's town after Ashfeather was trusted with the way of the sword. They had travelled some more around the islands, gone through the rainforests, and padded around the wide temperate plains. So to take a small break, they decided to stop at some craters for a swim.

Goldwing felt the cooling water refresh his skin as he swam up to the surface. It felt good after not swimming for a while despite being an AirClan cat. Silverheart and Ashfeather were more than in their element in the water, for they grew up in the South Pole. But Nightfoot only dipped her forepaws in the water while sitting on some rocks.

"Hey Goldwing!" the gray she-cat called. "I know you and the others like swimming, but I don't think exposing yourself is a good idea. Cover up, will you?"

"What?" Goldwing mewed defensively as Tobias landed on his head after a short hunt. "My body's under the water!"

Nightfoot rolled her pale green eyes. "I could hear that, smartass. But I'm talking about your arrow stripes! What if someone sees you?"

Silverheart, who was wading in the shallows with the water touching her belly, turned to face her former apprentice. "Don't worry, Nightfoot. This crater has tall walls. It's perfectly safe," she mewed with a smile.

Goldwing paddled over to them, ignoring the raised brow look Nightfoot was giving him. Then Tobias suddenly jerked his head up, so Goldwing turned around to see a long tunnel going into one side of the crater. Smiling, he paddled over until they were able to slip inside, rolling over onto his back with Tobias wrapped up in his forelegs.

Goldwing propelled himself down the tunnel and speddown through a water-slide like tunnel. Tobias was still strapped to Goldwing's chest as they sped through the twists and turns. They cawed and cheered loudly as they were still riding the water slide tunnel and laughing.

Unknowingly to him, two FireClan cats were hanging around. A ginger-&-white tom was just lounging on some rocks, fanning himself, while a dark brown tom used his sword handle to clean between his claws in the foreground. They had eaten some worms, for they were too bored and lazy to hunt.

"This is the most boring job in FireClan!" the bicolored tom groaned as the dark brown tom began licking himself. "Nothing exciting ever happens."

Suddenly, the dark brown tom's face was full with shock as he stopped licking. The bicolored tom followed his gaze to see a tiger-striped tom yelling and falling down a waterfall into a basin of water. They looked towards the splash and ducked down as if they were stalking a vole.

They laid down on their bellies behind some rocks near their posts, peeking toward the waterfall where the rouge tom just landed. Then the two toms whipped out a telescope and peeked into the hole at the same time. Just then, the rogue tiger cat leapt out of the water, a hawk flying close to him.

"Let's go again!" he cheered. The hawk looked uncertain, so the tom, to the two toms' shock, AirBended out of the water and sprung back up the rocks until he disappeared over the other side.

The two FireClan cats stayed huddled cheek-to-cheek, sharing one telescope and shaking with fear. They duck back down and faced one another.

"The Avatar Cat's alive!" the ginger-&-white tom hissed. "Let's send a falcon to Darkstar!"

He ran over to the cage of a peregrine falcon and opened it. The falcon hopped out of the cage onto the tomcat's back, wearing a FireClan symbol on his chest. Soon enough, it had a FireClan message tube strapped to his back.

The ginger-&-white tom placed a sealed scroll of parchment into the falcon's tube and closed the lid. Finally, the bird-of-prey spread its wings and leapt off its perch, flying towards the sun in the distance.

"A black ribbon message!" the dark brown tom cheered in excitement as the falcon flew off into the distance. "This is so exciting!"

**...**

Bearclaw sighed as he looked out to a black crescent shaped coastline, surrounded by green flatland cliffs. The sun-drown place was scattered with cats and red and yellow beach tents. There were some smaller beach bungalows, as well as some larger more magnificent properties interspersed around the cliff face. He didn't want to go, but what else would he have to do?

When the four cats reached the place, he saw a kit throwing a board onto the wash and riding around. The four cats prowled among the crowds, Bearclaw and Rose sharing an umbrella. In front of them were two little tomkits building an elaborate sand castle. Bearclaw was reminded strongly of himself when he was a kit; he had loved playing in sand castles and pretending big scary beasts were chasing him.

Suddenly, Frostfire leapt forth and pounced onto the sand castle, destroying it fast. She towered triumphantly over the castle she just crushed and gave the kits a scary hiss, Aya standing next to her and smiling. The kits let out screams of fear and ran off as Frostfire turned to kick their sand pail after them.

While the other cats split up, Aya stood there like a statue, somewhat confused with a large pink beach bag over her shoulder. A thin gray tabby tom sprang over to her and mewed eagerly, "Hey, you need some help unpacking?"

"Sure, thanks!"

Then Aya dumped her huge bag at the new tom's paws, making him look up at her. The gray tabby crouched down by the bag, unpacking, quickly throwing every item out one at a time and pulling out a pink towel. He smiled and laid the towel out with a flourish as Frostfire watched on in the foreground. He hastened to make her towel perfectly straight as the former deputy turned away in jealousy.

Aya laid down on the towel and squinted up at the sun, mumbling, "Can you scooch a little bit more to the left?"

The tom stood there, looking quite confused before quickly moving to block out the sun for her.

"Perfect! Thanks!" Aya purred, winking seductively at him.

Bearclaw and Rose watched this scene as they huddled together under an umbrella. A small kit ran by, laughing as a doxen dog ran around with it, barking. Bearclaw wondered how to impress his mate, but he recalled how some birds like bowerbirds would attract mates: attracting them with objects. So he looked to the side at a seashell, got up, padded over to it, and picked it up. He hoped she liked it.

"Here," he meowed, dropping the shell at Rose's paws. "This is for you."

"Why the hell would I want that?" Rose asked instead.

Trying to find some good words, Bearclaw answered, "I saw it and I thought 'Hey, this is really pretty'. Don't she-cats like stuff like this?"

But Rose turned away from him. "Maybe stupid she-cats."

_Mouse-dung! _Bearclaw hissed to himself. He threw the shell away in anger, growling, "Forget it!"

He saw the shell landing next to a robust black-&-tan tom, who spotted it and started surveying the beach. Bearclaw saw the cat turn to see Aya, who was still be shaded by the gray tabby tom. She was tossing her head back and laughing as sparkles twinkled around her, making her look beautiful. Bearclaw snorted at this gesture, knowing Rose would never do something like that even if her life depended on it.

The black-&-tan tom started gawking stupidly before blushing and smiling. Then he picked up the shell and padded towards her, crouching low to present the shell discarded by Bearclaw and Rose to Aya.

"Wow, thanks!" the white she-cat purred. "It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," the black-&-tan tom purred.

But the gray tabby tom moved to the side to get a closer look at the shell. "What're you mewing about? That shell's not so great!"

"Hello! Earth to toms!" Aya meowed abruptly, squinting in the sunlight. "Shade!"

Bearclaw got up to go get his mate and himself something cooling, so he padded to the nearest ice cream place and picked up two cones. One was chocolate and the other was vanilla; he would save the vanilla for Rose. When he got there, she was not sitting up and scanning the area.

"You know...it's so hot out here, and I thought you needed some cooling down. Here," he told her, handing her an ice cream cone. But the scoop of ice cream fell off the cone onto one of Rose's forepaws.

"Thanks," Rose muttered very sarcastically. "This is _really_ refreshing."

A meow made Bearclaw look up to see what was going on at a volleyball court. A brown she-cat moved forward toward a ball and hit it with her head. Other cats had joined in, playing a game of volleyball in a circular court. Then he turned to see Frostfire watching from under a tall palm tree, smirking menacingly.

"Hey, lazy furballs! We're playing next," Frostfire called to her friends. "Aya! Get your tail over here!"

The white she-cat just rolled off her towel into a paw-stand and padded over on her forepaws, smiling. Wanting to get to stretch his legs, Bearclaw stood up suddenly and shook his long pelt. The wind blew his fur about, and a flock of doves flew by dramatically behind him. He coolly ignored four giggling and blushing she-cats, watching him with big eyes.

Soon enough, the four cats had gathered together at the volleyball court. Frostfire had gathered her friends and her brother over to discuss the tactics of the match.

"See that she-cat with the flat face?" Frostfire meowed, flicking her tail at a flat-faced brown she-cat kicking the ball around. "When she runs towards the ball, there's just a slight hesitation in her left hind paw. I bet ten mouse tails that a kithood injury weakened her." She paused to glare at the she-cat before going on with a menacing tone, "Keep serving the ball to her left side, and we'll beat her down...and the rest of her team. Dismissed!"

And when they got back onto the field, the game began.

Frostfire threw the ball up toward the sun and then hurled it toward the other team, who missed it completely. Bearclaw slid for the ball and kicked it up into the air. Frostfire ran toward it, spun about, and smacked it toward the brown she-cat. The she-cat dived forth, but she missed the ball. The ball flew over a crowd of FireClan cats and landed next to two toms, a brown tabby and a gray-&-white tom, who now noticed the game.

Aya zoomed through the air toward the ball, kicked it, and landed like a rope walker on the net. This made the two toms watching become amused. Rose dashed to the ball and hit it with her head, making the toms look more rapt. Frostfire leapt onto Bearclaw's back, propelling herself into the air and kicking the ball with all her power. The ball zoomed like a cheetah toward the ground, catching flame. The ball landed in a fiery explosion, setting fire to the net.

"Yes!" Frostfire hissed, her yellow eyes wide with sinister power. "We have defeated you for all time! Never again shall you rise from the ashes of shame and humiliation!" But as the other team slunk away, the black she-cat turned to her friends, meowing, "Well, that was fun."

She, Bearclaw, and the others were joined by the two toms from earlier as they approached Aya. Bearclaw rolled his amber eyes; of course they would come over to her because she was being flirty.

"I'm having a party tonight," the brown tabby meowed. "How about you come over later?"

"Sure!" Aya purred, her tail waving in the air. "I love parties!"

To Bearclaw's quiet fury, the gray-&-white tom flicked his tail to Rose and added, "Your friend can come too."

Aya nodded at them and smiled innocently, but Frostfire stepped forth, growling, "What about me and my brother? Aren't you going to invite us to your party? Don't you know who we are?"

The two toms shared skeptical looks before the brown tabby gave a cool smile in return. "Don't _you_ know who _we_ are? We're Stoat and Dagger. I'm Stoat."

"And I'm Dagger," the gray-&-white tom added.

Frostfire and Aya looked pleased, but Bearclaw stalked forward angrily. If those cats could get away with talking to their deputy and warriors like that, they were wrong. But before he could get near, Frostfire held out her tail to stop her brother.

"Fine, you're invited," Stoat sighed. "Just to let you know, though, some of the most important younger cats in FireClan are gonna be at this party. So...try and act normal, okay?"

"We'll do our best," Frostfire agreed, but she had quite an evil smirk on her face as she did so.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

After their beach time, the four FireClan cats went back to Li and Lo's small beach house and dock. All six cats were sitting around a hexagonal table on the balcony outside, eating a very elaborate meal. Bearclaw hadn't felt hungry, for he still wanted to get out and do something useful, now that he was the FireClan deputy.

"Why the hell didn't you tell those toms who we were?" he asked Frostfire.

"I guess I was intrigued," his sister replied, shrugging as she gnawed on a rabbit bone. "You should know that I'm used to cats adoring us."

"They should," Aya purred cheerfully.

Frostfire nodded. "Yes, I know. And I love it! But just for once, I just wanted to see how cats would treat us if they don't know who we were."

Bearclaw ignored this as he ate beside his mate. Then Lo and Li spoke up, "Like waves washing away the pawprints from the sand, Black Sand Island gives every cat and creature a clean state. Black Sand Island reveals the cat you really are." Then the twins both stood up and clapped their forepaws twice, each raising one foreleg in excitement. "To the party!"

**...**

The messenger falcon flew over a river canyon, hoping to see a cat it could deliver the message to. But suddenly, a loud screech from behind made it turn to see a large eagle owl flying after it. Its silver face feathers were covered in soot, and it had a hungry look in its yellow-orange eyes.

Being a fast bird, the falcon swerved to one side, but the owl followed it by diving. It swooped down and tied a black ribbon around the falcon with its beak, making sure it didn't escape. Then, as the falcon cawed with anger, the owl swooped down and slashed it across the throat with its talons. Blood spraying out of its throat, the falcon plummeted down to the ground, the eagle owl flying down after it.

The falcon fell down to the ground with a thud, dead. The eagle owl landed beside the carcass, took out a piece of meat, and began eating. But after a few more pieces of meat, the owl spotted the scroll tied to its back and took it out with its talons before taking it in its beak. Holding onto the body of the falcon, it flew away.

After flying about, the owl spotted who it wanted to deliver the message to: a huge male tiger with a third eye in his forehead, metallic paws, and amber eyes. It landed on the tiger's broad back and dropped both the carcass, diving to it and dropping the scroll as well. But the tiger wasn't that interested in the body of the falcon; he was more interested in the scroll

He laid the scroll out on the flat rock and began to read through it, his eyes narrowing with each word. Finally, he unsheathed the claws from one massive paw and swiped it at the paper, slowly burning it from the middle, outward. The tiger looked away from the burning paper and glared over at the setting sun, knowing what his prey was going to be now.

**...**

Bearclaw snorted as he approached a large stilted mansion on the cliff of Black Sand Island. He didn't want to go to the party in the first place, but Frostfire kept insisting like a kit wanting a new toy. So he waited as Frostfire began tapping an ornate gold knocker on a large wooden door.

The door opened to reveal Stoat, who meowing in a suspicious tone, "Um...you've come here a little too early. No one's here yet."

Frostfire replied, "I heard you telling someone you'll be partying from dusk till dawn." She flicked her tail at the setting sun as she went on, "And it's dusk, so we're here."

Bearclaw rolled his eyes. His younger littermate always took expressions a little too literally.

"That's just an expression," Stoat replied, making Bearclaw agree with this cat.

"But we're the perfect party guests. We arrive on time because we are very prompt. And when I mean prompt, I MEAN prompt," Frostfire meowed, making a chopping motion with her left forepaw and hitting the ground as she said "prompt".

The brown tabby frowned at her as if not expecting an answer like that. But still, he shrugged and gestured for them to come inside. So all four cats entered large entryway with a large table covered with food at the center. Bearclaw had to admit that this cat had decorating style, but the sooner this party started, the sooner he could leave.

When they got inside, Stoat turned to face them, meowing sharply, "All right, listen here. My dad's a warrior in the FireClan army, and he's off on business somewhere for the weekend. He doesn't know I'm having this party, so _don't_ screw anything up."

Frostfire nodded, but she stepped forward with what looked like a menacing look on her face. Bearclaw knew what was going to happen, for his sister was always good at making threats.

"That's a sharp pelt shine you have, Stoat... be careful," she mewed, looking quite forceful and insane. "Your shine could cut the hull of an Empire FireClan Battleship, leaving many to drown at sea...because..." she added, pointing a paw at Stoat's pelt. "...it's so sharp."

"Um...thanks," Stoat replied, flicking his tail less enthusiastically at her.

Frostfire gave the brown tabby an enthusiastic smile, which quickly turned to a frown as Stoat padded away. The four cats looked over to the right to see Dagger grooming his fur in front of a mirror. The tom noticed Frostfire and her company walking by in the mirror's reflection and turned to them.

"Hey," Dagger meowed. "First ones here, eh?"

Rose muttered a greeting, but Bearclaw felt his lip curl at this. For some odd reason, he felt very jealous that Rose was getting attention from other toms.

"Pft. He thinks he's so special," he muttered. To Rose, he asked, "What do you think of him?"

Rose stopped walking and turned to face him. "I don't have an opinion about him. I don't know him."

But Bearclaw wouldn't take that for an answer. Instead, he snapped, "You like him, don't you?"

The dark tortoiseshell she-cat just gave a very annoyed sigh and stalked away. Bearclaw glared angrily in the direction of Dagger, thinking that if that cat hadn't greeted them, Rose wouldn't be talking to him. But he had no choice but wait until she waited until she saw where her loyalties really lied.

**...**

"How do you know Aya?"

"I met her at the sun-drown place today. She was impressed by a sand pagoda I made for her."

"Well, I met her first!"

Frostfire watched with mild amusement as Aya was cornered by a gaggle of FireClan toms, all eager to impress her. But she was mildly jealous about all the attention the white she-cat was receiving.

She looked back at Aya, who was mewing, "Hey, it doesn't matter who I met first! I like all of you!"

"But which one of us do you really like?" the black-&-tan tom from before asked.

"Yeah! Tell us!" they all added.

"I don't know," Aya mewled, looking confused and gesturing for everyone to move away from her. "I just don't know!"

Then, as quick as a flash, she performed a series of swipes and kicks. One by one, the toms fell slowly toward the ground after being knocked out by the white-furred warrior. Then she leapt through her newly cleared path away from the toms.

Frostfire glared on with a scathing look in the corner as Aya approached her. As she moved away a bit, her friend mewed, "Hey, Frostfire! I'm so glad you're here! Those toms just won't leave me alone! I think they all like me too much."

"Come now, Aya," Frostfire retorted. "You can't be that oblivious."

"What?" Aya asked, confused. "What're you meowing about?"

Frostfire leapt down from a small pole and leaned coolly against it. "Those toms only like you because you make it easy. You're not a challenge. You're a tease. You like teasing toms just like a whore. It's not like they actually _care_ who you are."

But as soon as she said so, she regretted her words right away. For Aya had started crying, her head turning away as she did so. So Frostfire rested her muzzle on her friend's lean shoulder in a comforting gesture, meowing, "Okay, calm down. I'm sorry I said all that. But maybe I just said it because I was a little...jealous," she added in a whisper.

Aya's face lightened up as her gray eyes widened. "You were jealous of me? No way! You're the prettiest, smartest, most perfect she-cat in all the Clans!"

"Well, you're right about all those things," Frostfire admitted, turning away. "But for some odd reason, when I meet toms, they act like I'm going to do something awful to them."

"But you probably would!" Aya purred. Frostfire turned back to her, feeling a bit sad. If all that was true, then she would never find a mate like her brother did.

Aya must have seen her look, for she added, "Sorry. It's just...I'm sure they're just frightened by you. So if you want a tom to like you, just look at him, smile a lot, and laugh at every little thing he says, even if it's not funny."

"Well..." Frostfire muttered, looking down. "That sounds silly and mouse-brained. So let's try it!" she purred, her black fur quivering with excitement.

"Okay, here we go," Aya began, leaning against a pole and pretending to be a tomcat by posing. "'Hey there, sweet thing. How ya likin' this party?'"

This made Frostfire laugh out loud and unnaturally, drawing the attention of everyone at the party. The toms were looking bewildered as they looked around at her. Frostfire lowered her gaze, unable to look them all in the eye while Aya just shrugged helpfully.

_Well...this is a start._

But she saw that Bearclaw and Rose did not join the other cats in the party. Instead, they were just sitting together on a bench. Rose's tail tip was twitching, and she looked displeased while Bearclaw glared about the room. Frostfire had no idea what was wrong with her older littermate. When another cat walked past them, holding a drink in his jaws, she could hear the talking.

"I'm bored," Rose muttered.

"I know," Bearclaw muttered back.

"I'm hungry," Rose meowed.

"So what?" Bearclaw retorted dully.

"So find me something to eat," the she-cat responded.

"Sure," Bearclaw huffed, getting up and walking away.

Frostfire smirked at this; so far, those two were not enjoying this party and wanted to be left alone. She wished they could just lighten up and join the party with her...since she wasn't thinking of fighting any cats here. But she saw something that made her slightly interested.

She saw Stoat talking to a gray-brown she-cat, and she wanted to get to know him better. So she padded forth, holding a drink on her head, and meowed, "Hey, Stoat. I'm ready for a tour around the house."

Stoat looked from his drink to the FireClan she-cat to Frostfire as if making up his mind. Then he placed his drink on the gray-brown she-cat's head and gestured for Frostfire to follow him. So the black she-cat placed her drink on the same FireClan she-cat's head, the drink steaming in the FireClan she-cat's anger.

The two cats padded outside onto the balcony and looked over the horizon. Frostfire could never imagine a better night than this; she felt so calm after "killing" the Avatar Cat. As they leapt onto the railing, Stoat turned to face her.

"So is this your first time on Black Sand Island?" he asked her.

"No," Frostfire mewed. "I used to come here when I was a kit."

The brown tabby tom nodded. "Yeah. It's a cool place if you like sand."

Frostfire didn't find this entirely funny, so she forced an enthusiastic laugh.

"Yep. It's like, 'Welcome to Sandy Land. Home of the black sand!'" Stoat purred, waving his long tail to the ocean.

This time, Frostfire found this funny, so she laughed along with Stoat. Looking pleased, Stoat scooted in closed to Frostfire until their pelts were brushing against each other.

"Your pelt sure looks shiny in the moonlight," Frostfire purred slyly, studying how the pelt had turned pale gray in the moonlight.

Stoat purred in reply and, before Frostfire knew it, rubbed his cheek against hers. Frostfire had not entirely expected this, but it felt really nice to be with this cat. So she sank into his strong salty scent and returned the same gesture, their whiskers brushing as they rubbed their noses together.

When they broke apart, they looked each other in the eyes. Stoat purred, "You know...I don't know if someone told you this before, but...you look really beautiful tonight."

Frostfire purred, standing up and pointing her tail up to the sky. "Thank you. And you and I shall become the strongest couple in the entire world!" The torch behind Frostfire turned blue, and the balcony was filled with a menacing blue light as blue flames shot out from her tail. "Together, we shall dominate all the Clans and StarClan! No one will stop us! Never!"

But Stoat just stared at her in complete shock, and Frostfire did not know why. A white seagull comically flew behind him, and his tongue appeared to have lolled out of his mouth. Then he shook himself out of it.

"Uh...I gotta go," he mewed, smiling awkwardly as he scooted away and dashed back into the party house.

Frostfire watched him go, confused at what happened. Had she said something to scare him away? But then she remembered telling Aya that she was afraid she would scare a tom away.

And it was true. Frostfire gave a sigh and looked back over the water.

**...**

Bearclaw knew he had to hurry before it was too late. So after he scooped a few mice kabobs on a plate, he started walking through the crowd of party guests. One of them accidentally knocked his plate to the ground with a careless gesture, the food smashing to the ground.

"Hey, watch it, you punk!" Bearclaw snarled. "That food was for my cranky mate!"

But as he flicked his tail to Rose, he turned to see something that made his blood boil. His mate was talking to Dagger, one of the cats who had invited them to the party. Pure rage flooding up inside him, Bearclaw leapt toward them angrily and pushed Dagger away from her.

"Whoa! Slow down there!" the gray-&-white tom exclaimed. "What're you doing?"

Bearclaw shoved his muzzle angrily in his face and roared, "Stop talking to my mate!"

Dagger looked confused at what had happened. "Relax, man. It's just a party.

But Bearclaw shoved the tom away from him, sending him flying across the room. This resulted in Dagger breaking a giant vase and Bearclaw stalking forward angrily.

Rose pulled him back by the tail, making Bearclaw turn to face her. She had an angry look on her face as she spat, "Bearclaw, what the hell is the matter with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Bearclaw repeated in disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"

"Your temper's out of control!" the dark tortoiseshell snapped. "You get angry over every little thing! You're so edgy and hot-headed!"

Bearclaw retorted, "Well, at least I _feel_ something...unlike you! You don't have any passion for anything! You're just a big...blah!"

The shock on Rose's face told him he had went a little too far. Then she turned away from him and muttered something he never thought she would say:

"It's over, Bearclaw. We're done."

She stalked away from him, not looking back at him. Bearclaw lowered his gaze to the floor, sinking his claws into the wood. This was not turning out to be a good weekend for him at all. He felt that if he had stayed back at home and trained any of the apprentices back at camp, then all this would never have happened.

"Who broke my grandma's vase?" Stoat had returned to the party.

Dagger flicked his tail over to Bearclaw. Stoat glared at the dark tabby, stalked towards him, and pointed his paw to the door, snarling, "That's it, you! Get the hell out of here!"

"I was just leaving, smartass," the FireClan deputy spat back, stalking away.

"Have fun by yourself, loser!" Dagger called. He, Stoat, and Rose were standing in a row behind him, watching him leave the party.

"Nice one," Stoat purred to the gray-&-white tom.

Bearclaw sighed before walking out the door alone and slamming it shut. Without looking back, he began climbing back down the stairs and to the sun-drown place.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Bearclaw padded alongside the seashore, aware that Mapleshade was no longer beside him. He was grateful for this, but he kept his head bent down. The large dark tabby padded around some rocks, ignoring some mice running over his paws, and then looked upward. He could see a large FireClan mansion nestled in the mountain face. Remembering the mansion from his kithood, he headed toward it, thorn bushes scratching his shoulders. He turned to lick the blood off his broad shoulder, but he stopped and looked out towards the sea.

Memories began to wash through his mind when he saw a vision. It was of a gray tabby cat and two kits running happily together through a field. Bearclaw continued looking out at the sea as he pushed the memories away and continued his assent.

Another memory came into his mind. This time it was his kit self looking happy, a grown cat's paw resting on his shoulder. Bearclaw pushed that memory away too as he arrived before the doorway to the mansion. Looking up at it, he took a deep breath, let it out, and padded forward.

Again, another memory came into his mind. This time, it was a huge dark tabby tom playing with a little black kit in the sunset while a tabby kit beside them was building a sandcastle by the sea. Everyone looked happy. Bearclaw pushed the memory away and approached the doors to the mansion, pulling at one, but it was locked. So he kicked it open.

Inside was a great dusty room, spiders spinning their webs here and there. Bearclaw prowled up another set of stairs and stood before a family portrait. It was a picture of his father Darkstar, his mother Bearheart, Frostfire and Bearclaw sitting together. He could see his young self's clean and cute face and his father's face in the portrait, looking as father and son sat alongside each other. Darkstar had been unusually kind and friendly that day.

Bearclaw could see his young self looking out at the sea, his father's big paw on his shoulder. When he was back in the real world, his eyes looked over the portrait and rested on his mother. Another flash, and he could see Bearheart happily playing with a baby Bearclaw. Another flash, and he was back in the real world. He padded towards a circular piece of concrete with a kit's paw stamped in it. Sighing, Bearclaw rested his large adult paw on top of the small print, hiding it completely.

_Where did the good times go?_

**...**

After a day of hunting, swimming, and planning, AvatarClan had fallen asleep near the water. Goldwing was just dreaming of hunting or hanging out with Silverheart before he heard a mew of shock slice through his dream. He woke up wearily to see Nightfoot sitting up wide awake, Tobias clinging on to her head. The other cats started waking up beside Goldwing.

"Guys..." the gray she-cat rasped. "I could be wrong, but I feel a metal cat coming."

Suddenly, a bright light shined in Goldwing's dark gray eyes, making him squint. He rubbed his eye and looked toward the light source. He could see that the light source was coming from a huge tiger standing at the top of the crater's cliff. It had a strange marking on the center of its forehead, a metal right foreleg, and a metal left hind leg. Those were causing the moonlight to reflect towards Goldwing, who crouched low tensely; tigers like the cats of TigerClan were very powerful cats.

Suddenly, the tiger growled low before breathing inward. Goldwing, feeling scared, knew what was going to happen next, so he ran forward. The huge cat breathed in deeply, then...a beam of some sort came out of the tiger's forehead. The beam was headed straight for Goldwing, but he leapt to the side as it hit a nearby cliff and exploded. The four cats were blown backward in the explosion.

He saw Nightfoot steady herself before Bending a large herd of rocks at the tiger. It shot another beam, destroying the rocks and creating an explosion in front of Nightfoot. Silverheart leapt forth and tried to stop his next explosion with WaterBending, but her efforts were turned into a cloud of steam.

_Great StarClan! _Goldwing thought with fear as Archie began to roar. _What's up with this tiger?_

**...**

Frostfire sniffed the night air, hoping to catch a scent of her brother. When she looked up, she saw that it led up to the mansion her family used to stay at in greenleaf. So she climbed up the stairs and, when she entered, saw another cat sitting there.

It was Bearclaw. Her brother was sitting on the steps holding his kithood pawprint in his paws.

"I was wondering if I could find you here," Frostfire meowed.

Bearclaw didn't turn to face her. Instead, he muttered, "That greenleaf we spent here seem so much years ago. So much has changed."

Frostfire had to hide a smile of sympathy at his words. So she padded down the steps and flicked her tail to the sun-drown place. "Come down to the seashore with me. This place is gloomy."

The dark tabby wearily got to his paws and followed her down the steps, leaving the kitten paw print alone on the porch. Along the way down to the seashore, Bearclaw and Frostfire stopped to hunt for a bit, working together to take down a large island pheasant. When they got back down from the steps, Bearclaw was carrying the pheasant while Frostfire held a thrush in her jaws.

When they made it back, the two cats dropped off their catch on a makeshift fresh-kill pile. Then Bearclaw saw two cats who had left the party: Rose and Aya. Bearclaw looked towards Rose as if to apologize, but he remembered what happened, so he turned away.

"Bearclaw..." Rose tried to say to her former mate, anger and sadness in her amber gaze.

"So where's your new mate?" Bearclaw just muttered, turning back.

This made Rose stare at him in shock before angrily turning away. Bearclaw padded back to her and paid his tail on her shoulder, mewing, "Are you cold?"

But Rose swatted his tail away with her paw.

"Well, I'm freezing!" Aya mewled, shivering. "This night air's a chiller for a short-pelt!"

"Don't worry; I'll make us a fire," Bearclaw replied, smiling roguishly. He looked up to the mansion and muttered, "There's plenty of stuff to burn in there. I'll go see what's there. Who wants to come along?"

**...**

The metal tiger roared again as he shot another beam from his forehead. The beam shot through a cloud of steam toward some rocks and exploded. Goldwing and his friends had hid themselves behind a rock, crouched and covering their heads for the explosion. They sat back up, staring up at the tiger with disbelief.

"How crazy is this?" Ashfeather yowled. "How the hell can we defeat a cat who blows things up with his brain? Besides that, how can we defeat up a _tiger_?"

"We can," Goldwing mewed, slinking forth. "Dogs can distract predators from their pack, and so can we. No get onto Archie. I'll hold him off."

Silverheart looked like she wanted him to come back, but Nightfoot led her away to Archie. Very thankful of Nightfoot helping out, Goldwing raced away into the steam cloud.

He leapt out of the steam cloud and started leaping up to the tiger, one rock at a time. Another beam exploded near the tiger-striped cat, and he had to to jump down the other side of the cliff, the orange cloud from the explosion still behind him. Goldwing slid down the back of the cliff into a field of rock pillars.

The tiger roared and leapt down the cliff, sliding down with his claws scraping against the dirt. Goldwing ran through the forest of pillars, chose one, and hid behind it. The tiger finished with sliding down the back of the cliff face toward Goldwing. The Avatar Cat panted hard, his back to a pillar, as he peeked around the pillar to see the tiger with his nose to the air, sniffing.

_StarClan, don't let this tiger see me!_

But the tiger spotted him and stopped, shooting another beam at him, making the pillar blow up. Goldwing dashed over to another one, ignoring the stones cutting his paw pads, but sadly, it also exploded. Quickly, Goldwing leapt up to sink his claws into one pillar before soaring from pillar to pillar, stopping behind one.

He Bended the pillar towards the tiger, but it exploded before it even hit him. Another beam was directed toward Goldwing, but he quickly Bended a wall of air around the explosion and was sent flying backward. The Avatar Cat was sent flying through the night sky, turning and clawing through a flying post of rocks, which caused in the rocks forming into a shield.

The large tiger roared loudly as he ran though the field of pillars. He stopped where the Avatar Cat should have landed and looked around, stalking by a pillar of rocks. Goldwing watched in the pile of rocks, his eyes visible, as the tiger stopped and looked in his direction. Now was the time to strike.

Goldwing burst through covered in rock armor, and the tiger shot another beam at the rocks he was on. So Goldwing was sent flying into the air, but Archie swooped low and picked his master up in time. The tiger-striped cat landed with a thud on the saddle, where everyone was safe and sound. Silverheart came to lay down next to him and lick him frantically on the ears, making him grateful for the pretty white tabby.

"I'm okay," he wheezed, resting a paw on her back. "Thanks, Archie."

Archie groaned in reply while Tobias landed on his master's head.

"_That_ was random," Nightfoot declared.

"I don't think it really WAS random," Silverheart replied, looking over at Goldwing, who closed his eyes to rest. "I feel that the tiger knows who we are."

**...**

Bearclaw looked down at the family portrait and threw into the flames. This was no time to dwell in the past; now he had to look on towards the present and the future. He and the other she-cats looked on as the portrait was burned to nothing but ashes.

"What're you doing?" Aya asked with disbelief.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Bearclaw retorted.

Aya looked down at the painting with narrowed gray eyes. "That's your family's painting."

Bearclaw turned to her and sneered, "Do you honestly think _I_ care?"

"I think you do."

"You don't know me, okay? So mind your own damn business!" Bearclaw spat, turning away from her.

The white she-cat looked down and murmured softly, "I know you, Bearclaw. I really do."

Bearclaw snapped, "No you don't! You're stuck in your pretty little Aya world, where every little thing's great all the time!"

"Leave her alone, Bearclaw," Rose growled, sitting on a log near the fire.

Bearclaw turned to glare at her, but he turned back to Aya and snapped, "Well, it's true!" He put on an unkind mocking voice and sneered, "'Oh, look at me! I'm Aya! I'm so pretty! Look at me. I can walk on my forepaws! Wee!'" He made a paw-stand and let himself fall back down to the black sand. Then he faced Aya, who looked upset, and spat, "Circus bitch!"

The look on Aya's face was enough to make anyone feel sorry for her...but not Bearclaw. As tears leaked down the white she-cat's face, Frostfire let out a small chuckle.

"Yes, you're right. I'm a freak. Go ahead and laugh," she choked, flicking her tail at Frostfire, who looked away. "Do you really want to know _why_ I joined the circus?"

"Here we go," Frostfire sighed, rolling her yellow eyes.

Aya began, "Do you have _any_ idea what my life was like? Growing up with six littermates who look like me? It was like, I didn't even have my own name!" She lowered her head, crying, "So I joined the circus because I was scared of spending my life as part of a matched set. At least I'm different now. So 'circus bitch' is a compliment!"

Rose rolled her amber eyes and muttered sarcastically, "I guess that explains why you need ten mates at once too."

"Excuse me?" Aya snapped, looking up to glare at Rose. "What did you say?"

"Attention issues," Rose muttered, looking away. "You couldn't get attention when you were a kit, so now you're making up for it."

Aya had stalked closer and closer to Rose with each charge as she snarled at her, "Well, what's your excuse, Rose? You were an only kit for two years, but even with all the attention you got, your aura is this dirty pasty gray-"

Rose looked dully at her. "I don't believe in auras."

"Of course you don't!" Bearclaw growled, standing up. "You don't believe in anything! Not even StarClan!"

Once again, Rose looked sad as she turned away, muttering, "Well, I'm sorry if I can't be as crazy as the rest of you."

Bearclaw sighed, not knowing what to say. But as he found the words, he padded over to her and replied, "I'm sorry too. I also wish you would be crazy for once, instead of keeping your feelings caged up inside. She just called your aura dirty. You gonna take that?"

The dark tortoiseshell just laid back carelessly on the log she was sitting on. "What do you _want_ me to say? A teary confession about how hard my kithood was? Well, it wasn't hard, to tell you the truth. I was a rich only kit who got anything I ever wanted. As long as I was good and sat still and didn't speak unless I was spoken to, I'd be fine. My mom said I had to keep myself out of trouble. We had my dad's governmental career to think about."

"Well, that's that, then," Frostfire spoke up suddenly. "You had a domineering mother who had certain beliefs, and if you strayed far from them, they shoot you down like a one-winged duck. That's why you can't care about anything and why you can't express yourself."

"You want me to express myself?" Rose snarled, sitting up and glaring at the black she-cat. "Well, here it is. _Leave. Me. Alone_!"

Bearclaw was impressed. He had never seen Rose act like this before, and it was why he liked her so much. She was now expressing herself.

"That was amazing," Bearclaw mewed to her, padding over to lick her cheek. "I really like it when you express yourself."

But Rose pushed him away, growling, "Don't you dare touch me, jackass. I'm still mad at you."

Bearclaw looked up at her. "Rose, my life wasn't that easy either."

"Whatever," his former mate grumbled. Glaring up at him, she snapped, "But _that_ doesn't excuse how you've been acting tonight!"

"Calm down," Aya mewled, stepping in between them. "This much negative energy is bad for your fur! You'll break out in hives!"

"Bad fur?" Bearclaw spat, turning to a flinching Aya. "Normal cats worry about the bad fur. But me? Well, I don't have that kind of luxury anymore. My father taught me a permanent lesson...on my face!" he added, pointing a claw to his scar.

The white she-cat looked away, looking ashamed. "I-I'm sorry. I...

Bearclaw sighed and began walking away. Looking over his shoulder, he growled, "For moons, I thought I'd be happy if Darkstar accepted me. I'm back home, and my own father talks to me. Hell, he even thinks I'm a hero!" Not noticing the smile Frostfire made at those words, he went on, "Everything should be perfect, right? And I should be happy now! ...but I'm not. I'm angrier than ever before, and I don't know why."

"Then that's a simple question you'll have to answer sooner or later, brother," Frostfire meowed, leaned forward. "So who are you angry at?"

Bearclaw sat down and looked down at his paws. "N-No one. I'm just angry."

"No seriously, who are you angry at, Bearclaw?" Rose joined in.

"Everyone..." Bearclaw groaned, lying down and covering his ears in frustration. "I just don't know."

"Is it Dad?" Frostfire asked.

"No, no!"

"Your uncle Irontail?" Aya asked.

"Me?" Frostfire added

Bearclaw kept shaking his head in frustration, their questions hammering at his head like a beaver's tail. "No, no...no, no."

Rose meowed, "Then who, Bearclaw? Who are you angry at?"

Frostfire's honeyed mew became stern as she ordered, "Answer the question, Bearclaw. Just because you're the deputy doesn't mean we answer your questions for you."

"Please talk to us," Aya pleaded.

Bearclaw couldn't answer as he rose onto his haunches. He had never been more confused or infuriated before. Not even at the catacombs of BoulderClan had he felt this confused or angry.

"Come on," Rose growled. "Answer the question."

"Answer it," Frostfire pressed on.

Silence. Then...

"_I'M ANGRY AT MYSELF!"_ Bearclaw roared, turning around.

He brought his forepaws down to the ground, and the campfire burst into a column of flame. The three she-cats covered their eyes and faces to protect themselves from the fire. Bearclaw saw this as wind and embers flew through his blowing dark tabby pelt. The fire burned out, and the area turned dark.

Never before had he ever been pushed into a question like this. But now...Bearclaw had no idea what to think anymore. On one paw, he was back at home with his friends and his father showing him the love he deserved. On the other paw, there was Irontail, locked up in prison and refusing to speak with him. Was it all worth it?

"Why?" Frostfire asked, tilting her head to one side.

Bearclaw turned back around to stare up at the stars of Silverpelt. "It's that...I'm so confused. I don't know if I know the difference between right and wrong anymore."

Frostfire rolled her eyes again. "Pathetic."

Bearclaw sighed inwardly; Frostfire would never know the meaning of internal conflict since she was the one with the good luck. But as he continued looking up at the stars, his whiskers blowing in the breeze, he felt a warm pelt press against his, making him turn around. It was Rose.

The dark tortoiseshell was giving him a heartfelt smile as she purred, "I know one thing _I_ care about, Bearclaw: you."

Bearclaw was thankful for her advice, so he leaned towards her and gave her a gentle lick on the cheek. Rose returned the gesture before both cats rubbed their cheeks together as they sat side by side, their tails entwined. They were back together as mates after a few hours of fighting.

A slow clapping noise made the two separate and turn to see who was doing the clapping. It was Frostfire, who was purring, "I say...those were wonderful acts, everyone."

"Then I'm sure _you_ wouldn't understand, Frostfire. Would you?" Bearclaw retorted as Rose came back to his side. "Because you're _so_ perfect," he added with sarcasm.

"Well, yes, you're right," his sister replied. "Unlike you, I don't have a sob story. I could sit here and complain how our mother Bearheart liked Bearclaw more than me, but I don't care," she muttered, staring into the lasting embers of the fire. "My own mother...thought I was a monster. And she was right! ...but it still hurt."

Aya gave her a concerned look before she smiled, rubbing a smooth stone under her paw pads. "Hey, guys. What Lo and Li said was true. The sun-drown place help us learn about ourselves. About the true cats we are. I feel all smoothed out like this stone. I'll treasure this day _forever_."

Bearclaw gave her a small smile as Rose did the same. It was like a daily life prophecy they all had to fulfill, and he admitted that the old geezers were right. He had found the cat he truly was: troubled yet sure to find his destiny. He would stay strong until the end.

"Hey, I know what'll make this trip _really_ unforgettable," Frostfire announced, a wily smile on her face.

_Really? _Bearclaw asked her inwardly, leaning in to listen. This should be really great...

**...**

Once again, it was Frostfire who knocked on the door to Stoat's house. When the brown tabby opened the door, Bearclaw could see that the party was still going on full swing behind him. And Stoat looked very confused.

"We've got some very bad news, Stoat," Frostfire mewed.

"Yeah," Bearclaw growled, pushing himself up to the front. "Party's over, punk!"

And with that done, all four cats pushed themselves past Stoat and into the party.

Bearclaw threw an antique vase to the floor, shattering it, before he kicked a table food in half as party-goers ran away screaming. Stoat was watching in fear, his fur bristling. Next, Aya threw a knife down a wall, cutting five draperies in half. Stoat, still looking shock, looked up suddenly to see Aya. The white she-cat crouched in the joists, swinging down and pulling down two orange chandeliers as they came crashing to the floor.

Stoat was now crying loudly and pathetically while Frostfire stood behind him, looking satisfied as her tail twitched from side to side. Bearclaw padded up beside her, smirking down at the sorry and pathetic excuse for a cat, as Rose and Aya joined them. To finish this off, he lashed his own tail around to set fire to the draperies, all four cats smiling at this moment.

This was one night they would never forget.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Well! This took me days to finish this! Thank God that's over.**

**Zuko: Yeah. I was wondering when you'd be done with it.**

**AvatarCat12: Well, it's all over. We got forty-five episodes down and sixteen more to go! It's been years since I started this entire series!**

**Zuko: Yeah. So can I go ahead and say the review thing and the preview for The Avatar Cat And The Tiger Cat?**

**AvatarCat12: Sure.**

**Zuko: Thanks. (To the readers) You know the drill. Review, and you get pizzas of your choice. Advice is okay; flames aren't...except if I FireBend.**

**Preview: Goldwing awakens in StarClan and is invited by Whitestorm to see his past life. On this spiritual journey, he finds out how the Great War has started and an amazing fact Whitestorm had hidden from him. Meanwhile, after Black Sand Island, Bearclaw wants to learn about the past of his dead great-grandfather. But he in turn is not prepared for what happens next.**

**Both: See ya next time!**


	6. The Avatar Cat And The Tiger Cat

**AvatarCat12: Aang and Katara still aren't back yet, for they're still having some time off. So Zuko and I are still working together until they come back.**

**Zuko: You know they still help out on Book 2, right?**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah. But since you and Aang have something in common in this episode, I'd like for you to stick around until the end of this chapter.**

**Zuko: (Give a small smirk) I guess I can. I'll go ahead with the disclaimer then.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 owns neither of these series. If he did, then he'd surprise himself less often.**

**Summary: ****Goldwing awakens in StarClan and is invited by Whitestorm to see his past life. On this spiritual journey, he finds out how the Great War has started and an amazing fact Whitestorm had hidden from him. Meanwhile, after Black Sand Island, Bearclaw wants to learn about the past of his dead great-grandfather. But he in turn is not prepared for what happens next.**

**Uploading Date: July 2, 2012**

**Both: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Avatar Cat And The Tiger Cat**_

_Night_

_And the spirit of life_

_Calling (Oh oh iyo)_

_Mamela (Oh oh iyo)_

_A white cat's face showed from a tall wall of fire, spooking Goldwing a bit. But he relaxed when he saw the familiar face of Whitestorm, staring at him with determination._

"_Goldwing...it's time you learned my history with Shadowstar, leader of FireClan. You need to understand how the war began if you want to end it. Meet me on my home island on the day of the greenleaf solstice__."_

_Then he disappeared behind the flames._

_And a voice_

_With the fear of a child_

_Answers (Oh oh iyo)_

_Mamela (Oh oh iyo)_

"Okay," Goldwing mewled in his sleep, rolling over next to Archie.

**...**

Footsteps outside the door made Bearclaw wake up from his sleep. The soft sound had woken him up, so he got out of his nest and rushed out to the hall to investigate. As he opened the door, he saw a mysterious shadow disappear down the hall. Bearclaw wondered what that was...or WHO that was.

As he gazed down the hall, a strong cool breeze blew through the drapes of the hall, rippling his long dark tabby fur. Bearclaw was about to run after the figure, but he was quickly distracted by a scroll placed upright in the hall. Surprised, he padded up to the scroll, laid it out until it was open, and began to read.

"_Bearclaw, it's time you know the story of your great-grandfather Shadowstar's death. It will reveal your destiny._

Bearclaw rolled up the scroll, intrigued. What did this cat know about his great-grandfather, and how would it help him find his destiny? He had already done it...did he?

The dark brown tabby tom stared down the hallway, the drapes still rustling in the night wind. He knew he would have to find out sooner or later.

_Ubukhosi bo khokho_

_We ndodana ye sizwe sonke_

**...**

_Wait_

_There's no mountain to great_

_Hear these words and have faith (Oh oh iyo)_

_Have faith_

The sky was a bright blue the next morning, clouds filling the sky. Once again, Archie had to be covered in a large cloud as he flew quickly through the sky. Goldwing, sitting on his dragon's neck, was Bending the elements around Archie to create a cloud of camouflage. His forepaws were moving quickly around his body in a circular motion.

Silverheart and Ashfeather were looking over Archie's saddle for a better look. The island was disquietingly desolate, only a volcano in the center with a few rocks jutted here and there.

"This is it," Goldwing mewed, flicking his tail to the volcano. "That was where Whitestorm lived when he was alive."

Silverheart looked down to it again, confused. "But...there's nothing here."

Nightfoot leapt down from Archie's saddle as the Asian Lung landed. Once all four paws hit the ground, she solemnly began feeling around for what clues there were.

When she looked up to see the others leaping down from the saddle, she mewed gravely, "Of course there's something here. It's an entire village with many houses. All completely buried in soot and ash," she added, a breeze moving a layer of ash along the ground, brushing past their paws.

**...**

Bearclaw was a bit relieved to be back in the amazing FireClan City, surrounded by walls that appeared to have been made by waves of lava. He was visiting a large and impressive hall, full of paintings of royal FireClan leaders. Bearclaw stood before one of the portraits: the portrait of Shadowstar.

A ruffle of fur made him turn to see Frostfire padding up behind him. Bearclaw whipped around to see what she was up to.

"You know, Bearclaw, it's never too early for a meeting with the court artist," the black she-cat told him. Sarcastically, she added as she walked away, "Make sure he gets your good side."

Bearclaw looked away from his sister, growling at his sister's tactless remark. But suddenly, he had an idea: Frostfire must have known so much about Shadowstar. So he turned back around to see her walking away from him and towards the hall.

"Frostfire, wait! Can I ask you something?" he asked. When Frostfire turned back around, the deputy went on, "What do you remember about our Great Grandfather Shadowstar's history?"

Frostfire sighed as she flicked her tail at Shadowstar's painting and all the other regal paintings. "Oh, Bearclaw. It's strange how your mind works." Pointing her tail at a comet arching in flight over the painting's head, she went on, "You know, of course, that Shadowstar started this war. He spent his early years secretly preparing for it, but he was patient and clever. Like a house on fire, he waited for the comet, later renamed the Shadow Meteor, and used its power to launch his life-size invasion of the world and its Clans. And in the end, he died very old and successful."

Bearclaw was confused at the last part. "But how did he _die_?"

"Didn't you pay attention when we were apprentices?" his sister retorted as she began to prowl away. "He died peacefully in his sleep. He was old."

_That's no answer! _Bearclaw thought, staring after her in frustration as she left. If she wanted to be secretive about this, then he would have to solve this by himself.

**...**

AvatarClan was settling down well on Whitestorm Island, as it was called. After hunting and patrolling, they were left sitting on the tip of a hardened wave of lava. But Goldwing decided that he could use this time to try and reach Whitestorm by meditating.

So that was what he did as he faced the ocean, which was blazing in gold and orange like the sunset. He began meditating and, as soon as he slipped into unconsciousness, his arrow stripes began to glow, and he slowly lowered his head to his paws until he saw asleep.

When Goldwing woke up, he saw sitting on the Great Rock of Fourtrees in StarClan. He was encircled by an ocean of mist, cats talking with one another in hushed voices. Then, as he lifted a paw to swipe at some mist, he saw that his paw was golden like his pelt used to be. And when he leapt down and looked down at his reflection in a nearby puddle, he saw he had his normal fur color back...but only temporarily.

_He lives in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He lives in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He watches over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

Swiftly, a huge shape flew past Goldwing, ruffling his fur. So he climbed back up onto the Great Rock to come face-to-face with a black griffin. The huge creature flew upwards and then behind Goldwing, who was now standing on the Great Rock. And the cat on the griffin was now seen to see who it was.

It was Whitestorm. The tall white tom was smiling gently, and a cool breeze ruffled his pale fur. Goldwing rose to his paws, looking up at Whitestorm and into the wise golden eyes. Once again, he was meeting his former life in StarClan.

_Into the water (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Into the truth (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_He lives in you_

**...**

Bearclaw sat alone in his room, laying on his back on his nest. He rolled over on his side and stared at the puzzling scroll he had taken with him. No matter times he kept reading it, it kept on confusing him. He picked up the scroll and read it to himself again, getting more frustrated and confused.

"What the hell does this even mean?" Bearclaw growled. Annoyed, he tossed the scroll aside. It lands on his bedside lantern.

The light from within the lantern shone through the parchment. Bearclaw gaped in shock at what had happened: it was revealing a secret message on the scroll. He leapt out of his nest, ran over to the scroll from atop the lantern and began reading it aloud.

"'The Fire Elder Sages keep the secret history of the leader in the Griffin Bone Burial Ground.'"

Knowing what he had to do now, he turned to leave for this place.

**...**

Bearclaw looked up at the dark and ominous temple as it stood stately, bathed in soft red light. FireClan Elder Sages patrolled the grounds, Redspots no longer with them. So he hid away in the shadows, leaping onto and waiting on a pillar, out of sight. He could see a FireClan Elder Sage walking through the large courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard floor, there was a large medal fashioned in the shape of a flower.

The brown FireClan Elder Sage stopped directly over the ornate medallion on the ground. He bent low and delivered a blast of fire into the center of the design. It began to open, and soon enough, a hidden passage under the courtyard of the temple was revealed. When it opened all the way, the FireClan Elder Sage leapt into the floor.

Bearclaw still sat on the pillar to wait until it was safe for him to use the secret passage himself. When all was quiet, the FireClan deputy leapt down, raced over to the secret path, and Bended a blast of fire into the medallion just as the sage had. The passage opened up to reveal a secret staircase along with a very large secret chamber. Bearclaw padded through the chamber and down a hall lined with what appeared to be the griffin bones, all lined up along the walls of the hall.

He then came to an ornate door with what appears to be a metal sculpture of Shadowstar on it. On the chest of the sculpture was a FireClan emblem. Bearclaw placed a large forepaw over the emblem and delivered a powerful fire blast. The fire filled up the door and poured out from the statue's eyes, nose and mouth. As the door opened up, cobwebs pulled apart and fall to the side of the door, making the spiders flee to the corners.

As Bearclaw entered the room, he rubbed the swamp scent off of his fur and lifted his lantern to look around the dark chamber. The room was filled with artifacts and various vessels, and a large and complex griffin statue sat in the middle of the room. Under the griffin's head, Bearclaw finally found what he was looking for.

"'The final tribute of Shadowstar...'"

**...**

"Come, Goldwing. We must go."

Goldwing looked up at the white-furred Avatar Cat on the black griffin. Trusting Whitestorm with his life, he leapt onto the griffin's back and sunk his claws into a couple of feathers. Then the three of them flew off over the clouds, feeling as if they were speeding through time.

"So where are we going, Whitestorm?" Goldwing asked when he saw images of unknown animals stampeding past them.

"To visit my past. Our shared past," Whitestorm meowed, smiling.

Goldwing gave the FireClan cat a smile in return, and the three flew on. But suddenly, Goldwing had a strange vision of a cat crouching near a fireplace and studying a paper. And out of nowhere, he could hear another voice, a raspier voice, speaking out of nowhere.

"_As I feel my life fading away into the dark, I can't help but think of an era when everything was brighter. And I even remember my best friend."_

Goldwing guessed this was Shadowstar speaking, but he pushed the voice away as easily as a cobweb. He indeed wanted to see what the history of the FireClan leader and Whitestorm was like, but he wanted to see it differently. He wanted to see this through the eyes of Whitestorm.

When the scenery around them slowed down to normal, Goldwing could see a lush and green FireClan courtyard. Two young FireClan cats were practice fighting; one was black with a left white forepaw, and the other was white with a right black forepaw. The young cats traded fire blasts in an impressive display of FireBending.

_That sure does look amazing, _Goldwing admitted to himself. Even though he did not want to FireBend after he nearly killed Silverheart with it, he saw that it did look good.

While they sparred, the black cat noticed that the white cat's paws were too close to a tree root. He smiled and stepped up his attack to drive his friend back, causing the white cat to trip and fall back. As the white cat began to fall, his friend grabbed him by the scruff to prevent him from falling. While he held him, he raised his forepaw as if to fire blast, but instead, he let his friend fall to the ground before pinning him down.

"Pinned ya again, Whitepaw," the black cat purred, getting off and grabbing his scruff.

"You kidding me?" Whitepaw purred back as he let his friend get him up to his paws. "That root did all the work there." He got back on his feet and patted his friend on the shoulder to praise his clever trick. "Nice move, Shadowpaw."

The two young cats walked away, leaving Goldwing and Whitestorm looking after them. But all through that, Goldwing couldn't help but keep staring after them in shock. He had recognized the younger Whitestorm right away, but he didn't recognize the other cat. But after what he had seen moments ago...

_So that was..._

"Your friend was Shadowstar!" he yelped with shock.

Whitestorm merely nodded sadly. "Back then, he was just Shadowpaw, the son of the leader back then while I was just Whitepaw. And he was my best friend."

Goldwing nodded and looked back as the two young cats left the courtyard. It still felt weird that the Avatar Cat he had respected had been friends with Bearclaw's ancestor. But that didn't really change the white cat much besides having him as a friend.

As he looked back, a pretty white she-cat entered the area, reminding Goldwing somewhat of his crush's pelt color without the stripes. As the she-cat padded past the friends, Whitepaw stared after her and began to blush.

Shadowpaw must have seen this, for he nudged his friend over to her and mewed with a teasing tone, "Say something."

Whitepaw gave a small breath and padded after the young white she-cat. He raised his tail and attempted to greet her, but he seemed to hesitate. So all he mewed was "Uh...um..."

Embarrassed and dazed by her presence, Whitepaw sighed again, brought his paws to his face, and fell back to the ground. Smiling, Shadowpaw sat down next to him and sprinkled blades of grass onto his friend's face. Goldwing and the older Whitestorm watched on, witnessing the latter's history unfold.

"Love can be hard when you're young," Whitestorm sighed. "Oh, to be young and to feel love's keen sting."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Goldwing muttered, looking away. He knew Silverheart did not pay much attention when he would tell her how much he loved her. But Whitestorm was right; love could sting when one was so young,

Seeing this, Whitestorm put his paw on Goldwing's shoulder. "Oh, don't worry; it gets better. Now come. We have a party to attend."

As soon as the former Avatar Cat said this, he and Goldwing were whisked away in another swirl of stars. Goldwing supposed this was how StarClan cats travelled, but he hadn't explored much of StarClan before.

When the scenery stopped before them, Goldwing looked around him in admiration. The two cats had appeared at a lovely outdoor celebration in a courtyard. Cheerful golden lanterns were strung above a large crowd of FireClan cats. Goldwing almost had the urge to join in with them all...but there was one thing missing.

"Hold on," he mewed, looking around at a large staircase with two cats at the top. "Whose party is this?"

"Mine and Shadowstar's," Whitestorm explained. "We shared many things, including a birthday and even our warrior ceremony; we were even born on the same day. Shadowpaw became Shadowclaw while I became Whitestorm."

Goldwing nodded and looked back to see the young Whitestorm and Shadowclaw at the top of the stairs. As they padded down the stairs, two she-cats watched them go down; one of them was Whitestorm's love interest. The white she-cat watched the young Whitestorm before looking down and blushing. Her tabby friend leaned over her shoulder and giggled.

The young Whitestorm had noticed the she-cat's interest and blushed while he continued down the stairs. Distracted, Whitestorm began to fall down the stairs. Quickly, Shadowclaw rushed forth and grabbed his friend's paw in his jaws, saving him from falling. Whitestorm composed himself and blushed again from embarrassment while Shadowclaw laughed at his love-smitten friend.

The moment ended quickly, however, as the crowd suddenly grew quiet. A group of FireClan Elder Sages had entered the courtyard and were walking toward Shadowclaw and the young Whitestorm. Seeing the looks on the elders' faces, Shadowclaw sprinted down the stairs to greet them.

"Did something happen to my father?" the black tom asked.

"No, Shadowclaw," a red-furred tom replied. "Cougarstar is fine. We have come to announce the arrival of the new Avatar Cat."

The guests were no longer quiet as whispers traveled through the crowd like wildfire. Both Whitestorm and Shadowclaw looked on in shock, looking at one another in the process. Then, as the Elder Sages finished the announcement, they bowed to respect the new Avatar Cat.

"We are honored to serve you, Avatar Cat Whitestorm."

Goldwing watched as the young Whitestorm stared on in disbelief, his jaw dropped, in disbelief. Before him, all the other cats crouched low to the ground, bowing in respect. Shadowclaw, who was still in shock himself, looked around at the crowd before turning to bow before Whitestorm. Goldwing remembered something like this happening to him before; it also seemed that the white cat before him was facing the same thing.

Whitestorm (in his own time) was to be the next Avatar Cat.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Bearclaw still sat in the griffin-bone chamber, reading. He held the scroll down with his paws, his lantern still casting an orange glow against his body. As he read on, he could still hear his ancestor's words ringing in his ears. And as he read on, he felt himself being transported to the past once again.

This time, he was taken to the room of the former Avatar Cat, Whitestorm. The pure white tom was staring down towards the floor, his black paw shuffling a bit.

"Soon the day came for my friend Whitestorm had to leave FireClan and face his destiny as the Avatar Cat. He had to travel the world so he could master the other three elements and enter the Avatar Cat State."

"Hey, you packed yet, almighty Avatar Cat?"

Bearclaw and the younger Whitestorm turned to see Shadowclaw standing in the doorway. The future FireClan leader had a teasing yet friendly smile on his face as he padded towards his old friend.

Whitestorm didn't move and continued to stare. Shadowclaw looked down at his friend's lack of eagerness; Bearclaw could tell his ancestor sympathized with his friend. He soon found himself wishing his family was more like the young Shadowstar.

Suddenly, Shadowclaw jerked his head up, smiling. "Come on, then, buddy! Show me how it's done...using all four types of Bending!"

The black cat then leapt up into the air, attempting to demonstrate examples of all the Bending disciplines. Once he was done twirling around in the air like a leaf, he finished his routine with a cheerful smile. Bearclaw had to admit that Shadowstar had quite a sense of humor.

But the new Avatar Cat looked even more depressed as he went on, "I started packing, but the elders said I won't need any of my stuff anymore."

"Oh," Shadowclaw mewed, his smile fading as he sat down on the nest next to his friend.

Whitestorm stared down at the empty trunk at his paws and murmured, "It all happened so fast. A few moons ago, we were just hanging out like normal apprentices, and now...I'm the Avatar Cat, and you're gonna be the next leader of FireClan. Everything's going to be different now."

Shadowclaw blinked at this, and Bearclaw could have sworn he saw a small smile on his face. He started to lift his paws towards some kind of red necklace on his neck (something Bearclaw had not seen in a while) removed it, and held it out towards Whitestorm.

"Here," Shadowclaw mewed. "I hope they allow you to take this."

"But this is a royal artifact," Whitestorm mewed with shock, looking up at his best friend. "It's supposed to be worn by the future leader. What if someone says something about it?"

Shadowclaw leaned in forward. "Let 'em try. _I_ want you to have it."

Finally nodded, Whitestorm bent his head low, took the gift, and placed it around his own neck. As the necklace snapped on in place, Whitestorm looked over to his friend to give him a small smile, which Shadowclaw returned. The two friends stood up and bowed towards one another.

Bearclaw looked up for a moment, slowly returning to the real world. He had no idea his own ancestor, the one who started the war, was friends with the Avatar Cat. A cat that was known as FireClan's enemy.

**...**

What the three cats saw before them...rather disturbed them. They still watched on as Goldwing, who still had his eyes closed, stood up on the rock he was meditating on. But the disturbing part came when he crouched down in a peculiar way and started to grunt. He appeared to be relieving himself...or "making dirt", as most cats called it.

Silverheart looked both disgusted and alarmed. "Do they have dirtplaces in StarClan?"

"As a matter of fact, they do not," Ashfeather replied, raising his tail. He could still recall his short visit in StarClan as an apprentice.

Goldwing just gave them a small grin with his eyes closed, still in the peculiar stance. Then, as they backed away, he could feel himself going back to StarClan's territory.

Once again, he was riding on the back of Whitestorm's griffin in StarClan's territory. Goldwing quickly caught a familiar scent, a scent of pine trees, rocks, and rabbits. He could tell they were on their way to a familiar place.

"We're almost at the Southern AirClan camp, right?" he mewed with excitement.

Whitestorm nodded with a smile. "Yes. This was the first stop on my journey as the Avatar Cat."

The clouds began to clear up, and the beautiful Stone Mountain Range was shown with the Temple in the distance. The griffin circled gracefully through the mountain range and right over the temple before landing with a thud. As Goldwing and Whitestorm leapt off the griffin, they saw something that made Goldwing's heart ache with homesickness.

A line of AirClan monks were waiting in a line, possibly waiting for training. Then Goldwing saw the younger Whitestorm at the end of the line, annoying a young golden tabby cat to his right. Whitestorm appeared to be Bending his long tail at the young cat's face with AirBending.

"This was the place where I was trained to master AirBending," Whitestorm told Goldwing with another smile. "This is also where I met an old friend of yours...Goldenstripe. Back then, he was Goldenpaw."

Said cat effortlessly Bended the young Whitestorm's tail back at him, making it slap against its owner's face. Whitestorm nudged Goldenpaw away playfully, but the young golden tabby stayed very satisfied with a smile.

Goldwing stood there as he watched this, flabbergasted. Goldenstripe had told him that he had a special friend when he was an apprentice. But he had never told him that Whitestorm was that friend he had spoken of.

"No...way..." Goldwing gasped.

Whitestorm nodded. But just then, the scenery around them swirled around again, making the current Avatar Cat wish it wouldn't do that. When the scenery slowed down, the two Avatar Cats found themselves beside the AirBenders on a grassy ledge. Goldwing knew this was a time when the young AirBenders would start their Bending practice.

An older dark ginger tom was leading the apprentices in an AirBending exercise. He leapt off the ledge before opening up his glider as the apprentices lined up by twos to follow their mentor. A pang of nostalgia stung at Goldwing's heart as he remembered the glider he used to have before he burned it. But he looked back as the younger Whitestorm and Goldenpaw soared beside each other, trying to race.

"Hey, Goldenpaw!" Whitestorm called. "Wanna see a new glider trick?" At this, he flew up and looped twice in the air.

Goldenpaw gave a cheerful chuckle as he purred, "Awesome! But check THIS out!"

At this, the young golden tabby tom flipped himself over and stood on top of his glider, looking like he was surfing.

_H-He's air-surfing,_ Goldwing thought with amazement, impressed. _Holy shit! I can't believe I never thought of that!_

As Goldenpaw showed off his skill, he lost his balance and began to fall through the sky. But as quick as a bear catching fish, Whitestorm grabbed his scruff and put him back on his glider staff. Unfortunately, he was unable to control his glider, and the two cats both plummeted towards the other young monks, who were now back on the grassy ledge. Hearing the yowls, the other cats looked up at the falling AirBenders, panicking and trying to run to get out of their way.

Goldwing looked around to see Whitestorm and Goldenpaw flying low and about to crash. They crash off down hard, and a large cloud of dust whipped up before the StarClan cats; when the dust cleared, the young monks had been knocked over and scattered about. Whitestorm's head fur was in his face, and Goldenpaw Bended it back while the white cat lifted his head. They both smiled, and Whitestorm patted the golden tabby apprentice on his shoulder.

"This is awesome!" Goldwing mewed happily. "I can't believe you were Goldenstripe's friend just like I was!"

"It's true," Whitestorm replied fondly, closing his eyes. "Some friendships are so strong, they can even go beyond lifetimes."

Goldwing nodded, but he saw a vision appear right across his mind. This vision he saw was of a familiar yet unfamiliar old silver tabby sharing a smile with a young blue-gray she-cat with aqua-blue eyes. He had no idea what the vision meant, but he had no time to worry about it.

The black griffin flew off from the mountain, the two Avatar Cats on his back. In an instance, Goldwing saw that they had arrived in the Northern WaterClan, and after that, he could see two figures on a plateau of ice. The griffin flew down some more to land on the ice without sending up some snow, and Goldwing saw the scene more clearly.

The young Whitestorm was standing on the table of a small glacier. He was a bit older now, and he had started to look more like a grown tom every moment. He had some chiseled features and the beginnings of a scarred pelt.

"After moons of mastering AirBending, I traveled to the Northern WaterClan," Whitestorm told Goldwing from the side. "It was hard and challenging for me, just like you trying to EarthBend. But in time, I mastered it well."

They both turned about to see the WaterBending mentor, a gray tom wearing a collar of bone with a blue stone. The gray tom commanded a large spiraling water spout from the ocean waters behind him. It curled, turned, and twisted before finally thrusting forward, knocking Whitestorm and a fourth of the glacier into the water. The white cat emerged from the water and Bended an enormous wave of water directly at his master standing on the glacier.

The water blast destroyed the glacier and carried his mentor all the way back to the top of a North WaterClan Temple. His master sat up and shook his head to get his bearings, also shaking the know from his pelt. Whitestorm saw still on an ice float, lowering his stance as a smile of satisfaction sat upon his face.

"I moved on to EarthClan next to learn EarthBending, my last element," the present Whitestorm explained. "My EarthBending mentor, Stormclaw, was rigid, stubborn, and brusque. But despite all that, he was also a lifelong friend."

The past Whitestorm had seemed to grown some more, for his muscles were getting to be more noticeable. He moved his forelegs and tail in quick strong motions to EarthBend a large piece of earth he was riding up the side of a mountain.

As Whitestorm sped up the slope, another cat joined in, a gray tom with green eyes. Goldwing could see Whitestorm panting, looking over at his master as they strove for speed. The Benders crashed their landmasses into thick brush and trees before they disappeared from view. But just then, Stormclaw appeared out of the ground, quickly bringing his landmass to a halt as he leapt around and confidently cheered for himself.

But the look on his face changed to surprise, and Goldwing saw why. Whitestorm had not only beat him to the top, but he also had arrived in enough time to seat himself and pour them both some bowls of cream. Stormclaw gave his apprentice a proud grin before the two toms sat down and raised their bowls to toast.

The scene dissolved again, and this time, they were standing on a beach. Goldwing watched as the past Whitestorm (now a bit older) sat on his haunches and moved his forelegs to Bend the elements in a display of mastery. He started by WaterBending to his left, EarthBending to the front, FireBending behind, and AirBending to his right. All four elements he commanded were now spread out like a multicolored flower, ready to bloom.

"It was hard work," the present Whitestorm sighed. But with a smile, he added, "...but it was all worth it. All of it."

Goldwing watched on in awe at the spectacular Bending seen before him. He supposed his old life had mastered the Avatar Cat State and had become a fully-realized Avatar Cat.

But as soon as he thought of that, his joy turned to frustration. It wasn't fair he failed to master it because he would have to give up Silverheart.

**...**

Bearclaw read on through his ancestor's history in the chamber. His amber eyes were shaking with every word he read.

"A very long year had passed before I saw my old friend again. When Whitestorm returned to his Clan, he had become a fully realized Avatar Cat. And I too had changed."

A wall of flames wreathed around Bearclaw, making him wonder if this was going to take him into the visions again. Just then, the scenery stopped spinning, and Bearclaw found himself in the throne room of the FireClan palace. And sitting on top of the throne...was Shadowclaw.

While Bearclaw looked up at his great-grandfather, the opening of a door made him turn around. Whitestorm had come back, for he was padding down a long ornate red carpet at Shadowclaw.

"Greetings, Shadowclaw...or shall I say...Shadow_star_?" Whitestorm purred with a smile.

Shadowstar didn't smile. Instead, he growled seriously, "My Clanmates usually bow before greeting me; that is a sign of respect. But as for you...you're the exception," he finished, a smile now on his face.

**...**

"Even after all these years, he was still my best friend," Whitestorm sighed as Goldwing watched this scene with a touched feeling.

Goldwing had no idea that the FireClan leader remembered his friend after all this time. At first, he had thought that Shadowstar would forget about his old friend, and he was worried that they would have to fight one day. But after seeing this scene, he realized that Whitestorm was right. Friendships COULD last through lifetimes.

Just then, the scenery changed again by swirling around until it came to a stop. When it stopped, Goldwing found himself at a wedding ceremony in a FireClan courtyard. Many guests were in attendance, even cats from the other Clans. To the young Whitestorm's right was Shadowstar, who was holding a scroll in his jaws.

"And a few moons later, he was my best man," the older Whitestorm purred.

Goldwing watched on as the past Whitestorm faced the she-cat he was soon to be mates-for-life with. It was a pretty white she-cat with bright golden eyes...and gray ear tufts. He knew who she was right away from a few flashbacks ago.

"Whitestorm!" Goldwing mewed to the present Whitestorm. "It's that she-cat! The one who didn't know you were alive!"

Whitestorm chuckled fondly as Goldwing brought up his mate. "Ah, yes. That was Icefur. I was persistent, but when love is real, it finds a way. And being the Avatar Cat sure gives you a way with the ladies," he added, mischief in his golden gaze.

Goldwing nodded, hoping that, with this guidance, he and Silverheart could be together. But he decided to worry about that later as he watched the past Whitestorm and Icefur lean in towards each other and lick each other's cheek. As the two white cats rubbed their faces together to finish the ceremony, every Clan cat at the party cheered for them.

But as the party went on, Goldwing could see Shadowstar sitting to the side, frowning as if he was thinking of something. Then...he could hear a voice he hadn't heard before, a gruff voice that had a mix of pride and regret in it.

"We look forward to the future with optimism and joy on wedding days. And I...I had my own vision for a brighter future."

Finally, Shadowstar got up to his paws and padded over to where Whitestorm and Icefur were thanking guests for gifts and receiving blessings. The FireClan leader came over and leaned in a bit to Icefur so that her new mate didn't hear.

"Excuse me, Icefur. I hate to be rude, but may I borrow him for a moment?" the black tom asked her with honest politeness.

The white she-cat looked over to the side to see Whitestorm talking with several more guests. Then she looked back with a small smile and purred, "It's not very traditional...but sure."

Shadowstar thanked her before flicking his tail to Whitestorm to get his attention. When the Avatar Cat looked up, his old friend flicked his tail over to a balcony so they could talk alone. Finally, Whitestorm mewed a few words to his new mate, licked her on the cheek, and padded after Shadowstar.

Goldwing and the present Whitestorm followed the two tomcats over to the veranda where they could talk in peace. As they leapt up into a small tree ripe with peaches, Goldwing could see the lanterns in the courtyard below.

"Okay, spill it out," the past Whitestorm meowed. "So what's on your mind?"

Shadowstar gazed at him seriously. "I've been thinking about the state of the world lately. About the future of the Clans."

Seeming to try and lighten the mood, Whitestorm nudged the black tom on the shoulder, purring, "Come on, Shadowstar, it's my wedding! Eat some cake. Dance with someone. Have some fun!"

"I know, I know. I'd like to have some fun too, but just hear me out," Shadowstar reassured him.

Looking into his eyes, he began, "In the beginning, I was destined to be the leader of our Clan. And while we didn't know it, StarClan had destined for you to be the Avatar Cat. It's an amazing stroke of fate that we know each other so well, right? Together, we can do..._anything_."

Whitestorm just nodded. "Yeah...we could."

"FireClan is enjoying a special time of peace and wealth," Shadowstar went on proudly. "Our queens have raised strong and healthy kits, our apprentices are training well in the ways of the Warrior Code, and our warriors are proud and noble. Our cats are happy, and StarClan has now blessed in so many ways."

"Shadowstar? Where are you going with this?" Whitestorm asked him, worry in his voice.

The FireClan leader ignored this as he went on, "I've been thinking of this. We should share this success with the rest of the world and its Clans. We hold the most successful Clan in history in our paws. And I think it's time we expanded it."

Goldwing gaped in shock at what Shadowstar had said. It was like he was implying that all four Clans should mash together into one Clan and have FireClan rule over them.

The past Whitestorm seemed to be thinking the same thing, for he told Shadowstar firmly, "No. StarClan said there should only be four Clans. And four Clans they shall remain."

Shadowstar gazed at him as if his old friend had gotten rabies. Then, shaking his head, he mewed gently, "Whitestorm, you haven't even stopped to consider the promises. Think about it!"

"No. There are no promises," Whitestorm growled, his ears flattening with anger. "I do not want to have this discussion with you again."

At that, he stalked away from his old friend, leaping down from the tree and looking upset about their talk. Shadowstar watched him leave as he fumed with anger at being dismissed by his old friend and the Avatar Cat. Goldwing flinched as he saw the look in the FireClan leader's pale golden eyes, anger and hate burning like coals.

_Was this how Whitestorm told me that this was how he was to blame for the War?_ Goldwing asked privately. _Was this how the War started? Over a disagreement?_

"That was my first genuine test as the Avatar Cat," the present Whitestorm meowed with a sigh. With a look of shame and regret on his face, he went on, "Alas, it was moons before I saw him again. And despite my warning, he had gone ahead with his plan."

Once again, the scene around them dissolved until everything became blue. Goldwing realized that they were all flying over the ocean, following the past Whitestorm and his griffin, who were approaching land. As they flew over the land, Whitestorm spotted an EarthClan dock, but that wasn't all. There was also an EarthClan fortress with plumes of smoke rising from inside. And a FireClan banner was spread over the original EarthClan symbol, covering it.

As Whitestorm stared on, shocked at this discovery, Goldwing could feel the same thing in his mind. No Clan had taken over another's territory ever since ShadowClan took over WindClan's territory. But he realized that he should not be surprised; FireClan seemed to have had taken plenty of EarthClan territory lately.

Quickly, the StarClan cats followed the past Whitestorm as he let his griffin land on EarthClan soil. With AirBending Whitestorm raced across the plains until he reached what appeared to be Shadowstar's new palace. He burst through the doors of the palace and glared up at his old friend sitting calmly on his throne. The white cat's shadow cast a long line of black on the long red carpet.

Angrily, he yowled, "Shadowstar! I have seen the colony! How dare you take away EarthClan territory!"

"And how dare _you_, a FireClan cat, talk to your leader like this!" the black tom spat back, his voice bitter with anger. "Your loyalty should be to your own Clan first as the Warrior Code says! Anything less makes you a traitor!"

Whitestorm lowered his pale golden eyes and turned away in disappointment. "I am no traitor, Darkstar, but I ask of you not to do this. Don't challenge me. It will only end badly. And since you have blatantly gone on with your plan, our friendship...is over."

Goldwing felt his own ears flatten with sympathy towards Whitestorm. Of course he had been a bit angry about his former life not stopping Shadowstar, but what he saw made his heart ache. He had no idea what it was like to break off a friendship, but it now stung harder than shards of ice.

As Whitestorm turned to leave, Shadowstar, bristling with wild rage, leapt from his throne and sent a deadly blast of fire at his former friend. Whitestorm seemed to sense this, for he leapt up into the air and mysteriously vanished. Shadowstar was still fuming with anger, but he was now anxious about the Avatar Cat's whereabouts. His golden eyes shifted from side to side, trying to find him.

Whitestorm broke through the floor behind him; he had used EarthBending to sink into the floor for safety. As he emerged, he delivered a mighty blast of air that sent Shadowstar flying across the room and slammed him into the doors of the throne room. As Shadowstar slid down to the floor, Whitestorm wasted no time in EarthBending a pillar of earth that lifted him into the air and pinned him by his scruff to the ceiling. Shadowstar, whose pelt was now stained with blood, was now helpless.

His face gripped by fury, Whitestorm calmly breathed in and out, and then his eyes began to spark; the Avatar Cat spirit was now flowing through him. Goldwing watched on in awe as Whitestorm brought the supports of the throne room crashing down. Shadowstar was uncovering his face to witness the destruction as his former friend AirBended a cyclone of air and raised himself up to face his leader.

"I would kill you if I could, Shadowstar, but I won't. The Warrior Code says that a warrior does not get victory by taking another's life," Whitestorm meowed with the spirits of the past echoing in his voice. "So I'm letting you go in the name of our former friendship. But I must warn you: even a single step out of line can become your ultimate downfall."

Unable to talk, Shadowstar glared into Whitestorm's eyes, his face unchanged. Suddenly, his expression dropped, and he hung his head in defeat and shame. Whitestorm turned around and rode the cyclone quickly away from Shadowstar, out of the palace.

Goldwing turned away from this powerful scene to look back at the present Whitestorm. The shame and regret was clearly on his face now.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Shadowstar and I did not talk to or even see each other for three years after our fight," the voice of Whitestorm meowed in Goldwing's ear. "I spent most of my time here at my home...with my mate, our kits, and our grandkits."

Goldwing felt dark brown or red colors whirl around his mind until they slowed down. When they slowed down, the StarClan cats found themselves in a medium-sized room. And sleeping in a nest together, their faces touching, were Whitestorm and Icefur in one big mass of white fur. Goldwing's heart melted when he saw this; he wished he and Silverheart were like those two.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling whooshing noise made Whitestorm jerk his head up. He leapt from his nest, sniffed the air twice, and looked out a window. His golden eyes widened with shock as several large fireballs fell from the sky and crashed into the island. Goldwing felt frozen as he witnessed the natural disaster; he recalled fighting against a volcano when he was an apprentice. But this volcano...it was much bigger than the last one.

Whitestorm herded his mate from the room, but his FireClan royalty collar got caught on a sharp piece of broken glass. He snapped it away, but the shard flew out and sliced near his jugular vein, blood trickling from the wound. Whitestorm and Icefur emerged from the house to find the air flooded with smoke and ash, shielding their faces as they coughed. Icefur rushed towards a corner of the house away from her mate.

"Icefur, we have to go," Whitestorm reassured her gently. "There's nothing we can do about the house."

Then as quickly as he did before, he AirBended a tunnel into the clouds of smoke to help his mate and other cats escape safely. Cats were running through the streets to escape the waves of smoke and ash that now poured through the streets. Talon, Whitestorm's pet griffin, rose up from behind the house, narrowly escaping as an ashflow totally buried the house. Whitestorm kept his head lowered as he led his mate and their Clanmates to safety. Ash continued to fall as he saw a swell of lava ooze from the mouth of the volcano.

As he ran, Whitestorm looked over to his mate, nudged her away, and motioned with his tail to tell her to go on without him. With a distressed look on her face, Icefur looked as if she wanted to drag him away with her, but she nodded and ran off to safety. She continued to look back over her shoulder, desperately hoping Whitestorm would come over to her. When he didn't, she ran off with the other cats at the harbor.

Then Whitestorm turned to face the advancing destruction, AirBending a big dome of protection around himself. Goldwing saw the cat of the village watching from the life boats off shore, Icefur gazing on in fear with a gray tom to her right and a black-&-white she-cat to her left, as they looked up at the catastrophe stricken with fear.

"_Whitestorm's island was many sky-lengths away,"_ Goldwing heard the mysterious voice say again. _"But I felt it rumbling under my paws and saw the black plume of smoke darkening the already night sky. I had never seen anything like this disaster before."_

Large columns of black smoke billow from the summit, and lightning struck above the volcano as the earth rumbled from the disaster. Thinking fast as a rockslide slid towards the small town, Whitestorm EarthBended a gigantic wall and rode the wall to meet the falling earth to stop its decline. But as he succeeded in stopping one disaster, another one quickly appeared.

The volcano ejected a massive wave of molten lava from its mouth, and the flow breeched the wall of earth. Whitestorm ran over to the bottom of the summit and slashed into the earth using his EarthBending. He created a ditch to divert the lava into the surrounding ocean, away from the town, and the bay of the island. The channel filled with lava and emptied into the ocean.

"Great StarClan..." Goldwing mewed in admiration. "This is awesome! You're fighting a huge volcano, and you're winning!"

"Yes," Whitestorm murmured with a sad sigh. "Unfortunately, my success didn't last. There was no way I could do it all by myself."

The past Whitestorm, in the meantime, was surrounded by lava and smoke. He lowered his head as lava leapt up and toxic gases spewed around him. Whitestorm turned slowly to look up at the top of the volcano, and as he did so, it violently expelled another fire fountain of lava. The white tom ran toward the volcano and leapt into the black sky, blowing a powerful air blast from his jaws at the rapid lava flow. The blast was so powerful that it caused him to rise in the air. The lava flow cooled down to form rock, and Whitestorm landed on it on all four paws.

Suddenly, a blast of poisonous gas erupted to his right, so he turned to shield his face from the blast and turned to the jet, AirBending it away. Then lava appeared on his right as another jet of gases blasted to his left, but he quickly AirBended it away as well.

"Battling the elements and the environment was hard enough," the present Whitestorm mewed. "I had to do it while I could barely breathe, putting me at a big disadvantage. And the poisonous volcanic gasses were crushing."

Lightning crashed around the crater as Whitestorm's griffin flew down towards his master. The summit emitted another lava fountain, but the griffin pulled back, narrowly escaping the blast.

"It's all right, Talon!" Whitestorm called to his pet. "Get out of here! I'll be fine!"

As Talon turned to fly Away, Whitestorm sat on his haunches and turned his body from side to side, his movements strong. When he finished, his face was fierce, and his eyes were aglow, for he had entered the Avatar Cat State. With a powerful swipe from his claws, he EarthBended a tremor through the volcano, knocking out the entire backside of the crater. This lessened the lava flow that was threatening to engulf the island. But as soon as the lava flowed down, the second volcano erupts. Whitestorm hopelessly dropped his head, looking like there was nothing else he could do.

_Great StarClan, no! _Goldwing heard himself thinking. _Is this where he dies?_

"Need a paw, old friend?"

Goldwing looked up in time from his worrying to see a cat who made his jaw drop in surprise. It was Shadowstar, his muzzle graying from age and his yellow eyes still sharp, as he approached his old friend.

"S-Shadowstar!" Whitestorm gasped in a coughing fit.

Quickly, the FireClan leader ran over to the Avatar Cat and nudged him back to his paws. "Yes. Now hurry. There's not a moment to waste."

So the FireClan warriors got onto Shadowstar's white griffin and flew back just as the second eruption took place. When they landed, Whitestorm started Bending the fire fountain back down into the crater. Shadowstar was balanced on the mouth of the vent, helping cool the lava down by displacing the heat and directing it through himself, and out through his tail into the stormy sky. The two friends were now standing side by side again, commanding and guiding the devastation.

After Goldwing saw his former life's mate watching on in anxiety, he looked back to see the two friends on the edge of the crater. Lightning blasted above Shadowstar as the earth beneath him became unstable. He began to fall back off the side of the volcano, but Whitestorm quickly ran over to catch the black cat by grabbing his scruff and pulling him back up. Stable again, the FireClan leader looked over at Whitestorm for a moment.

Suddenly, the earth violently shook again, and another surge of ash and rock shot up from the crater. Whitestorm rasped, "Don't breathe in the toxic gas. Keep running, and don't stop."

As the two toms ran through the smoke, a jet of toxic gas shot up directly next to Shadowstar, making him growl in shock. Whitestorm turned quickly around and AirBended it away to protect Shadowstar. Suddenly, gas erupted directly into the white cat's face, making him keel over and cough, overcome and disorientated.

"It's...too much..."

Whitestorm weakly raised a paw to look at it, but by the way his face looked, Goldwing saw that his paw was blurred and out of focus. He tried to get pack up, but he was swiftly overwhelmed by the poison, so he buckled and fell down onto his side. He looked up toward as he coughed and bled and looked up at his former friend.

"Shadowstar...!" Whitestorm wheezed as he looked up at the leader. "Please...help me..."

_Come on... _Goldwing quietly urged Shadowstar. Despite all the things the FireClan leader had done to start the war, surely he was a good friend. But when Shadowstar spoke, his voice was cold and harsh.

"Without you, all my plans are possible. I have visions for our Clan's future. I shall finish what my ancestor Tigerstar did not finish." He paused to look down one more time at his former friend before he meowed, "Long live the Avatar Cat."

Goldwing gasped with shock as Whitestorm was still reaching out towards Shadowstar. He had been listening to Shadowstar as the black tom delivered his death sentence.

As Whitestorm laid there, weak and vulnerable, Shadowstar leapt onto his own griffin and flew away, leaving Whitestorm surrounded by toxic gas and a surge of rock and ash flowing swiftly toward him. As the black clouds billowed the island, Goldwing felt his ears flatten with sadness and disappointment as he watched the past Whitestorm coughing and unable to get to his paws.

_But why? Why would he ever do something like that?_

Talon swooped down from the sky to his master, who bravely looked up towards his griffin. Just as the debris rapidly approached Whitestorm, the avalanche just moments away from swallowing him, Talon swopped down and wrapped his wings around his master. The wave of dark ash and rubble covered the two completely, hiding them from sight.

"NO!" Goldwing howled, seeing his former life's death.

"Let it go," Whitestorm told him quietly, holding his tail out to stop him. "What's done is done. We cannot change the past."

But just then, a soothing bright light flooded Goldwing vision, and he suddenly found himself and Whitestorm before an arched window frame. The sounds of kits mewling reached his ears. As the two Avatar Cats entered the nursery, they could see a silver tortoiseshell queen laying on her side, two newborn kit (one gray and one black) nursing by her side. And in time, a ginger tabby-&-white she-cat helping with the kitting held up a new kit, its golden pelt glowing in the sunlight.

Goldwing watched on in amazement as the silver tortoiseshell queen accepted the kit and let it nestle among his littermates and suckle. A golden tabby tom was giving her a proud purr as he licked her on the face before seeing his new kits. But there was something in the queen's dark gray eyes that made him gasp.

"Wait...those are my mom and dad!" Goldwing rasped. "And...those are me and my littermates!"

"Indeed," Whitestorm told him, a small smile on his face. "A quarter-moon after I died, you and your brother and sister were born. Now learn from our past, Goldwing, and you shall bring peace and restore balance to the Clans.

At this, the white cat began to slowly disappear behind him.

Goldwing spun around to meow, "Whitestorm? Whitestorm!"

But he was gone. And slowly, Goldwing found himself starting to wake up in the real world. He knew he would have to tell Silverheart, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot about what went on.

_He lives in you_

_Have faith_

**...**

Back in the Griffin Bone Tombs, Bearclaw still sat on the floor, reading. He had no idea how much pain Whitestorm may have felt, but he wanted to hear Shadowstar's side of the story. So he read on and twitched his tail as he heard Shadowstar's voice.

"_With Whitestorm dead, and the great meteor returning, the time to change the world had come at long last. I knew the next Avatar Cat would be born in AirClan, so I wiped out the Air Temples and killed all their cats until none were left. But somehow, he has eluded me. So I wasted the rest of my life and my remaining lives searching in vain. I know he's hiding out there somewhere; my instincts tell me so. FireClan's greatest threat...the last AirClan cat."_

Bearclaw could imagine it all now: the Southern AirClan camp devastated by fire with his great grandfather watching the destruction. And finally, he could see FireClan ships passing over a large ball of ice containing a familiar cat and his dragon. But before he could read more...he saw that something wasn't right.

"That's it?" he hissed, putting the scroll down. "Can't be. Where's the rest of it?"

**...**

Once he reached the prison where they held his Uncle Irontail, he had no problem getting past the guards. And once he got to the entrance of the cell, he slammed the door hard to the cell just behind him as he entered. Irontail was sitting with his head down, his long gray tabby fur tangled in tendrils with lock that loosely laid about his face.

"You sent this, didn't you, you old ass!" Bearclaw growled as soon as he entered. "I found the secret history. Which, incidentally, should just be renamed 'the history almost everyone already knows.' The note said I needed to know about my great-grandfather's death, but he was still alive in the end."

"No..." Irontail rasped for the first time in a long while, his voice scratchy and hoarse. He looked up at his nephew and went on, "...he wasn't."

Bearclaw sat there, irked at what he was told. "What are you meowing about?"

Irontail went on, his voice still croaky, "Shadowstar was not your only great-grandfather. He was your father's grandfather. Your mother's grandfather...was Avatar Cat Whitestorm."

_He lives in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He lives in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He watches over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

Hearing this made Bearclaw feel like he was being eaten alive. He knew the Avatar Cat could be reincarnated into the next cycle of the season. Thus...he realized he was related, distantly, to the Avatar Cat he had been trying to capture.

"Why the hell are you telling me this?" he rasped.

"Understanding the fight between your great-grandfathers can help you better realize the battle within you," his uncle replied. "Evil and good are always at war inside you, Bearclaw. In your heart, mind, and soul. It is your nature, your legacy."

Bearclaw hissed at this. Irontail went on, "But there is a bright side. What happened seasons ago can be solved now...by you. Because of your legacy, you and you alone can cleanse the sins of our family, FireClan, and Tigerstar. Along with all this strife, the power to restore balance to the world is born in you."

Turning to the wall, Irontail padded over to it, removed a brick, and reached his paw in for something. As he approached Bearclaw, he slowly unwrapped the bundle while he padded towards his nephew.

"This is a royal artifact, worn only by the future leader," the elder meowed, gently dropping it at Bearclaw's forepaws. "Now...we pass it on to you."

Bearclaw bent low and picked the object up, a red collar with a golden FireClan insignia on the tag. He held up the artifact before he gently put it around his neck, surprised that it fit snugly around him. Irontail sat quietly, looking at his nephew as a soft light glowed from above his cell.

Noticing the light, Bearclaw wondered if the path to redemption was like this, hard but with light at the end. He only hoped FireClan would not have to suffer while this took place.

_Into the water (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Into the truth (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_He lives in you_

**...**

"I don't believe all this. After all Whitestorm and Shadowstar went through together...even after Whitestorm spared his life, Shadowstar betrayed him like that."

It was Silverheart who asked this as soon as Goldwing finished his story. The other warriors had crowded around him above a cove where monk seals were resting. Goldwing remembered to tell them every tiny detail, like how Whitestorm had performed his Bending and how he said that there were to be only four Clans. When he finished, everyone had been amazed and shocked.

"It's like FireClan was born bad," Nightfoot spoke up, agreeing with her former mentor.

"No, I don't really think so," Goldwing told her, knowing that even the most sinister-looking things could sometimes not be bad. "I don't think that was the point of what Whitestorm showed me. Not at all."

"Then what was the point of all that?" Ashfeather asked, his pale blue eyes confused.

Goldwing took a deep breath, getting prepared of what he had to say. Finally, he meowed, "You guys know that Whitestorm was just as much of a FireClan cat as Whitestorm, right? If anything, then their story shows that anyone can hold the power of great good and great evil in their paws. Everyone, yes, even FireClan, have to be treated like they can be given a chance, just like how it says to show mercy in the Warrior Code.. And I also think it was about friendship...friendship that's recently found or friendship that has been long forgotten."

Nightfoot looked down to the ground, looking hopeful. "Do you really think friendships can last throughout eternity?"

Goldwing padded over to the gray she-cat and twined her tail with his, giving her a smile. "I don't see why not."

Silverheart padded over to the two cats and joined them in the twining of tails. Goldwing felt better at having his friends by his side, and in return, he was happy to help them while they were on this journey. To him, this was what friends do: looking out for each other and supporting like each other.

_We travel the world as a group because we're strong together. As strong as a Clan._

"Well, scientifically speaking here, there's no way to prove that..." Ashfeather started to say, stroking his chin with one paw.

"Ashfeather, just shut up and twine tails," Silverheart sighed with an annoyed sigh.

The black-furred warrior stopped talking, and without moving, he reached his tail over to twine it with the others'. With that said and done, the four travelling warriors turned back to the sea to see the sun rise slowly over the horizon.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Thank God that's done! It took me around a month or so to finish this! And I'm sorry about the long wait.**

**Zuko: It's fine. But I gotta get going now. I have some business to take care of.**

**AvatarCat12: Sure. Good working with you again.**

**Zuko: (Shakes his hand) And I to you. See you later. (Leaves the office)**

**AvatarCat12: Well...read and review! Those who do will receive virtual Korra plush dolls. Flames aren't allowed, but advice is. And here's the preview for The Gray Bandit.**

**Preview: Nightfoot has found a new way of getting money, but Silverheart disapproves of this, putting their friendship to the test again. Will Nightfoot's new way of getting money get her in trouble?**

**See ya next time! And Happy early 4****th**** of July!**


	7. The Gray Bandit

**AvatarCat12: So we're back again, and so are Aang and Katara!**

**Katara: (Looking slightly miffed) I remember this part. It's when Toph started swindling.**

**Aang: (A teasing tone in his voice) Don't be like that. Remember when you and Toph came up with that scam together?**

**Katara: ...maybe you're right. (Smiles a bit)**

**AvatarCat12: That's what I like to hear. So anyways, here's the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Both series don't belong to me. I mix them together for everyone to enjoy. And from the last chapter, I don't own He Lives In You. It belongs to The Lion King, which belongs to Disney.  
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**Summary: ****Nightfoot has found a new way of getting money, but Silverheart disapproves of this, putting their friendship to the test again. Will Nightfoot's new way of getting money get her in trouble?**

**Uploading Date: July 16, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Gray Bandit**_

_Nightfoot spun quickly around the fountain in the village, looking blindly up at the giant flaming statue of Darkstar that dominated the town square. After this, she ended up running out from a side street towards the statue, FireClan cats hot on her tail. The gray she-cat reached the base of the statue and turned around only to be engulfed in a net flung from the FireClan "domestic forces"._

_She fell to the ground, tangled in the net and unable to get free. She had been caught like a little rabbit in its own warren. Pawsteps told her that the cat who arranged this had come to gloat in front of her face. As the FireClan "domestic forces" approached her, she looked up at the newcomer accusingly, having recognized their scent._

"_How could you do this?" Nightfoot hissed. "Traitor!"_

"_You brought this on yourself," the soft cool voice of Silverheart retorted. "I had no choice."_

_Nightfoot could imagine the pretty white tabby warrior turning her back on her as the helpless EarthBender was dragged off. Silverheart did not even look back to see her friend being pulled away to StarClan knew where._

**...**

_Three Days Earlier_

AvatarClan had stopped at an an isolated area somewhere in the vicinity of Fire Fountain Town. They had stopped there to make plans and rest up or get supplies until they got back to the road. Although they could buy some food from a market, this area was filled with lots of prey like fish, rabbits, and quail.

Nightfoot and Silverheart were circling around each other, apparently about to engage in combat. Nightfoot could imagine her own pale green eyes staring into Silverheart's dark blue eyes, their fur bristling as they got ready to fight. Goldwing was in the middle, tying his headband around his eyes for a blindfold like Nightfoot told him to.

"Ok, I'm ready for some training!" he cheered, assuming a fighting stance and stomping the ground with one forepaw.

Instantly, Nightfoot went into seismic mode and focused on how Goldwing did EarthBending. She could feel concentric circles burning from the impact of the Avatar Cat's paw; she smiled to herself, knowing she was succeeding in teaching him how to "see" through EarthBending. She Bended several columns of rock over at him, and he dodged them with ease. Her former mentor sent over a water whip, and Goldwing dodged this as well, sending it back to her and hurling a boulder at Nightfoot. They gray she-cat caught it in time on a claw she just stuck out

"Good job, Twinkletoes!" she cheered. "Just like I taught you! Visualize...then strike!"

Then Nightfoot tossed the boulder back towards Goldwing, who spun around to avoid it. The boulder continued on its trajectory and collided with Silverheart's shoulder, making her keel over.

"Next time, Nightfoot, take your own advice," she told her former apprentice crossly.

Nightfoot merely snorted in an obnoxious way. "What? Can't handle a little dirt, Miss Fussy Tail?"

One of Silverheart's ears twitched irately before she whipped up a water whip, sending it at Nightfoot. The smaller cat got to her paws, soaked with water as she glared over at her former mentor.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I splash you, mud snail?" she hissed with mock sympathy.

Nightfoot felt her tail stand straight in the air and her heart sear with rage. She would not get away with something like that! Furiously, the two she-cats leapt at each other on ramps of rock and ice, respectively, collided in midair, and fell to the ground with shrieks of rage. They were too busy swiping their sheathed paws at each other to hear Goldwing mew, "Are we taking a break now?"

Ashfeather, who was slinking quietly towards the Avatar Cat with a devilish grin on his face, leapt at him, yowling, "Yaaaaaah! Sneak attack!"

Sighing at this "sneak attack", Goldwing Bended a column of rock in his path. He then removed the blindfold and gave Ashfeather a strange look.

"Sneak attacks don't work if you yowl them out loud," the tiger-striped tom reminded him.

The two toms looked away from each other just in time to see a weird sight before their eyes. Far from getting back to practice, Nightfoot and Silverheart were still wrestling in the mud with their claws sheathed. But the looks on their faces told the toms that the she-cats had forgotten about training and were now fighting amongst themselves.

"Hungry for a mud pie, muddy paws?" Nightfoot sneered as she swatted a pawful of mud at Silverheart's face.

"I'll give YOU a mud pie, bitch!" Silverheart retorted, pawing at Nightfoot's muzzle with her mud-soaked paw before Bending the mud around her to strike her.

Quickly, Nightfoot got to her paws and EarthBended the larger she-cat into the air. When she landed, they were about to go at it again when they Goldwing sprinted forth and placed himself between the two she-cats.

"Hey!" he yowled. "I thought we were supposed to be training?"

Recovering what dignity she could, Silverheart shook some mud away and mewed pompously, "Very well, my apprentice. I believe we've had enough training for today."

At this, she held her tail and nose in the air and marched away. Nightfoot, telling what her mentor was doing, shook her head, unable to stand her former mentor's attitude.

"And while Silverheart cleans her pelt up," she meowed scathingly, "let's go have some fun! What do you say, toms?"

"YEAH!" the two toms cheered.

Nightfoot allowed a satisfied smirk to come across her face when she heard this. Once again, she had proved to them that she was the more-fun she-cat of the group instead of Silverheart, who was acting like a motherly know-it-all.

**...**

Earlier, Nightfoot had asked her former mentor if she would like to come along. But Silverheart told them that they could have fun while she stayed at camp to work. Nightfoot went away from camp in a huff, angry that her mentor had no sense of humor. But she didn't want to brood about it, for now was the time for some fun.

Now the three other cats were calmly strolling down the street, not having a care in the world for a moment. The messenger falcons of FireClan were repeatedly flying about, and Ashfeather stopped all of a sudden. Nightfoot could tell that he had stopped to take a look at them.

"Look at all those falcons," the black tom commented. "You know...I've been thinking about getting my own falcon sometime. So I wouldn't have to talk to anyone just physically. I could just send them messages!"

"I gotta say, I like the idea of not talking to you," Nightfoot chuckled, amused by his goofy antics so she could ignore him.

From the front, Goldwing called, "Hey guys! What should we get with our last Sickle?"

Nightfoot knew they had been on their last Sickle for quite a while. To let Silverheart know they were getting supplies for their trip, they had gone hunting for those supplies. They had bought plenty of supplies, but it put a serious dent in their money.

However, she knew just what to do about it. She had heard of these new ways when she and her friends had been living in BoulderClan for a few moons. It was pretty risky the way they ran those kinds of things, but there was no other way yet. And besides, she also wanted to have some more fun.

"We can get more money. Right there," Nightfoot meowed, flicking her tail to a street below, where a conman was hustling a crowd of FireClan cats with a shell game. "This is where cats that can see...like you...are at a disadvantage. Everyone guesses wrong because the dealer moves the pebble in the nick of time. But I can feel it with my EarthBending." She began to prowl over to the stand, adding, "Come over here with me, you two. Shit's about to get real."

She could scent the awe and satisfaction that radiated from the toms' pelts. Nightfoot herself felt happy that she convinced these two to have some fun with her. Silverheart would not know what she was missing by staying behind back at camp.

By this time, the three cats had descended and joined the crowd around the table. She could feel the gray swindler's eyes following the innocent-looking "blind" she-cat and decided she was an easy piece of prey. But what he didn't know was that she was wanting him to do that.

"Hey, you there. Wanna play a friendly game?" he asked as soon as she knowingly stepped into view.

"But how could I play? I'm blind," she mewed in a helpless voice. She had rehearsed this to pretend she was blind.

The swindler replied, "You don't have to see to be lucky, now do you? Step on up!"

So Nightfoot reared up onto her hind legs, stumbling a bit to fool the others, and rested her front paws on the table. Once that was done, she began groping her way around it and laid down the last Sickle. She could feel Goldwing and Ashfeather pressing up against each side as she did so, thankful that they were playing along.

As soon as all this was done, the game began. The dealer practiced his sleight of paw with the pebble, sending it flying from one shell to another, but Nightfoot wasn't fooled. As quick as if stealing the last can of Who Hash, she guessed correctly, and the dealer tossed money her way.

"Wow!" Goldwing purred to the blind cat. "Flame on!"

"Wow, fancy guessing," the conman added. "You're amazing at this. But I'll tell you what. You wanna make the game a little more interesting?"

Nightfoot let her pale green eyes narrow. "More interesting?"

The conman replied, "Yep. Well, let's say you toss in your friend's fine sword there. That really does look like a fine sword if you ask me. Then I'll put up...twenty Sickles against it, and that'll make it more interesting. What do ya say?"

"I'll do it," Nightfoot meowed without any hesitation, grabbing Ashfeather's space sword and hands it over. Ashfeather smelled like he was distressed by this, but Nightfoot knew she really wasn't going to give away the space sword. "But you know what? How about we do this for forty Sickles?"

"Forty it is."

Goldwing gave a mew of awe while Ashfeather was looking over at Nightfoot as if she just sprouted antlers.

The shell shuffling began again, faster and more furious, and that was when Nightfoot felt it. The dealer was flicking the pebbles up into a bag he was carrying, removing them from the game, but she quickly EarthBended one of them back just in time. She pointed a paw at one of the shells, and the dealer smugly lifted it up.

"Sorry, little urchin, but..." To his shock and Nightfoot's joy, the pebble was still there like a lonely...pebble. "...huh? I lost?"

"I won!" Nightfoot cheered, her friends cheering beside her. This had been much easier than she thought, scamming a scammer and getting some extra money.

**...**

It had felt great for Nightfoot, knowing that she had found a quick and easy way to make money. She, Goldwing, and Ashfeather had went on a roll buying supplies for their journey like food and water. Nightfoot could not wait to feel Silverheart's reaction at seeing this; she would finally be satisfied with many stuff.

They had just returned to camp, their wagons filled with provisions, when Silverheart came to greet them. A plop on the ground told Nightfoot that her former mentor had dropped a fish to speak to them.

"Hey, guys. How was shopping?" Looking over at the newly-bought stuff, she asked, "Where did you get the money to buy all this stuff?"

"Nightfoot got us some," Goldwing told her proudly. "She conned one of those swindlers in town who moves the shells around all sneaky-like. And she managed to trick that guy really great!

"She used EarthBending to win the game," Ashfeather crowed. "Classic!"

Nightfoot lifted her head proudly when she heard that. _Yep! I'm a genius!_

However, Silverheart did not sound so impressed. Instead, she muttered, "Ahh...so she cheated, right?"

"Hey, I cheated because HE was cheating," Nightfoot retorted. "So I cheated a cheater. What the hell is wrong with that?"

"I'm just saying, that's all," Silverheart replied, her tail tip twitching. "Anyways, this isn't something we should make a habit of doing. We can't keep doing this just to make more money."

This made Nightfoot flatten her ears in irritation. Here she went again with that no-fun attitude of hers just like she had shown even back when Nightfoot was an apprentice. It was time for someone to show her what for.

So the gray she-cat hissed, "Why? Because it's fun and you hate fun?"

Silverheart retorted, "What? Of course I don't hate fun!" Squawking told Nightfoot that she had grabbed Tobias and draped his wings on top of her head. "See? Fun!"

Tobias then slipped off her head with an annoyed squawk.

"Listen, I'll personally make you an Avatar Cat promise," Goldwing mewed, lifting up the red bandana he wore to reveal his white arrow stripe.

"An Avatar Cat promise?" Silverheart asked, skeptical.

Goldwing nodded, bowing to her. "Yeah. I promise we won't make a habit of doing these scams. I promise."

**...**

_"Avatar Cat promises" aren't worth much_, Nightfoot sighed with bliss. She had quietly swayed Goldwing to break this promise by bribing him with extra rabbits for dinner. So she and the toms went back to the Fountain Village, where they got themselves into lots of scams.

First off, she had used her powers to rig a dice game, making the earth rumble and make the die go to the number she wanted. The second was to win a strongman competition, where she lifted up the mallet with all her feline strength and slammed it down. And finally, she had to extort a merchant by tricking him into thinking he ran her over with his moose-drawn cart. Ashfeather, who was in his "Wang Fire" disguise, was the one who collected the money.

When they made it back to camp, Silverheart was not amused. Instead, as soon as they set paw into camp, she started protesting with the cash-flush scammers.

"I think you three have done enough scams now," she started to meow. "If you keep doing them, something bad is gonna happen. And Nightfoot, how could you convince Goldwing to break his promise?"

"There you go again," Nightfoot hissed. "Always thinking StarClan will strike us down for one little activity. Now could you just stop being such a whiner and cool it?"

Silverheart sounded offended as she hissed, "Oh I'm sorry. You think I should be like you? Like some wild child? Like a rogue? Because the Warrior Code says you have to think of your Clan first."

Nightfoot rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe. Maybe then you'll see how great we have it. I mean, look at us. We're traveling around the world, making easy money, having fun, and having no parents to tell us what to do. Besides this Warrior Code."

She knew she had struck a nerve with that comment. Silverheart's mother had been killed in a FireClan raid when she was just a little kit, and she had been upset about it. Nightfoot prepared herself for a long scolding about respecting the dead, knowing how seriously Silverheart took the Warrior Code.

But instead, she mewed, "So you're acting like a rogue because of your parents, right?"

Nightfoot merely let out a low grunt, looking away from her. She did not want to think about her controlling parents, no matter what her former mentor said. She hated them.

"They were being overprotective, so you ran away, and now you're acting like your parents don't even exist," Silverheart pressed on. "You're acting like you hate them, but you don't. You just feel guilty."

"No I don't!" Nightfoot spat. "I hate those bastards!"

Silverheart merely meowed, "I don't think so. I think you DO miss them. But you just shrug it off to the side like a shrew instead of admitting it. So instead, you act like this crazy rogue."

There she went with the rogue part again; that word seemed to crawl under her pelt like a bad itch. So she snarled, "How dare you keep calling me that! I ran away from the life of a soft pampered kittypet to help Goldwing!"

"It doesn't matter," Silverheart sighed, swishing her tail from the left to the right. "These scams are putting us all at risk, and we don't need that. We're already on the run from FireClan, and we've already got some third-eyed freaky tiger after us. You remember that?"

"Speaking of that third-eyed freaky tiger..." Ashfeather spoke up. "I think I've come up with a good name for him. What do you think of...Sparky-Sparky Boom Cat!" But the other cats were unimpressed, so he added, "Just think about it. It's a good name!"

Silverheart sighed. "Anyways, we have enough money. Now you need to stop this!"

"Well, fuck you! I'll stop when _I_ want to, and not when YOU tell me!" Nightfoot spat, leaping away from the small group. She ignored a small hiss from Silverheart, which was also ignored by the others.

Then Ashfeather spoke up. "Hey, speaking of money, I'm off to spend some. See you later."

Nightfoot let out a grunt and turned away from him. When she got away from the group, she felt a frog chirping nearby. But thanks to the argument with Silverheart, she had leapt too late, and the frog escaped through the reeds. Her blood boiled over every single word she could throw at Silverheart now, especially with the curse words thrown at her and StarClan.

She had given up her life as a kittypet to be a warrior, and all she wanted to do was have a little fun now and then. It wasn't fair that Silverheart accused her of being a rogue; it also wasn't fair she had to control everything she did. She heavily wished that the WaterClan warrior would just lighten up or never have any fun at all.

**...**

Ashfeather felt proud of himself, having just fulfilled his dream and bought himself a messenger falcon. Like all the other falcons, this falcon was a peregrine falcon, gray-&-white with black spots dotted here and there. Its dark eyes gazed shadily at its new owner as it rode on his broad shoulders.

"Welcome to AvatarClan, Falco," Ashfeather purred. "I'm Ashfeather, and I'm your new owner. I should warn you that there's already a hawk in our group, so I don't want to see any infighting." He poked the falcon affectionately with his tail and cooed baby-talk at it. "Aww, that's a good wittle messenger Falco. Who's got pwetty wittle feathers?"

But suddenly, Falco gave a caw, and Ashfeather looked to the right. He had just padded by a wanted poster of Nightfoot and did a double-take. Gazing curiously up at it, he gently took it down from the wall and read through it, his eyes widening with shock.

_Wanted: The Gray Bandit. Authorities are offering a big reward of one thousand Galleons for the arrest of this gray she-cat. She disguises herself as a blind cat, and though she is small, she is really dangerous. Any information will be promptly rewarded._

"You're right, Falco," Ashfeather mewed. "This is bad."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

With Falco perched on his shoulder, Ashfeather made it back to camp. Goldwing was sitting on a nearby rock, meditating, and Nightfoot was digging something up. Archie and Tobias, for the meantime, were chatting to each other in their own tongues. Silverheart wasn't there right now; it appeared that his sister had gone fishing.

Knowing what he had to do, Ashfeather padded up to Nightfoot, who was actually digging up some money and counting it. The black tom wondered how she would take this news, for no bad news was good news.

"Hey Nightfoot," Ashfeather called. When Nightfoot looked up, he unfurled the wanted poster and went on, "When I went into town today, I found something you're not gonna like."

"Well, it sounds like paper, but I guess you're talking about what's on the paper," Nightfoot retorted, rolling her eyes.

Ashfeather began, "It's a wanted poster. Of you. They've nicknamed you the Gray Rebel. They say you pose as a blind cat, but they also say you're crafty."

But instead, Nightfoot sounded amused as she purred, "A wanted poster? That's so awesome! And the 'Gray Rebel?' I LOVE my new nickname! Is there a picture? Does it look good?"

"Well..." Ashfeather checked her against her likeness and had to admire the artwork. "Yeah, it actually DOES look good…oh, what am I saying? Nightfoot, you're missing the point. Maybe Silverheart was right about these scams. They're drawing too much attention to us!"

"Oh, come on, Ashfeather!" the gray she-cat insisted. "Don't be such a nag like your sister." As Ashfeather was about to protest in defense of his sister, she dangled a money sack in front of his face and went on, "Think of it like this. Now you have money to help with the invasion!"

Ashfeather mewed again, "Well...yeah, that's true. And I also had this idea of making some battle armor for Archie. That way he'll be protected during the invasion."

Nightfoot purred. "Good for you. And here's a little extra so you can get yourself a nice map of FireClan. You know what? Screw the map. Make it an atlas!" she added as she tossed to him the entire bag.

"I AM a fan of expensive atlases," the black tom mewed, catching it in his jaws. At this rate, they could be prepared in time for the invasion.

"I know you are," Nightfoot told him proudly. "And that's why this wanted poster will stay as our little secret."

She didn't see Ashfeather nod, but his little grunts while he nodded were enough for her. So the blind EarthClan warrior snatched the poster from him, hid it under all the other stuff in her bag, and strolled away just as Goldwing and Silverheart came back. The two of them appeared to have been hunting, but they didn't have any prey with them this time.

"Tell me you didn't buy a bird," Silverheart sighed.

Ashfeather replied, "He's not just a bird. He's a messenger falcon! Now we can send messages all over the world, even to Grandma!"

Goldwing sounded impressed. "That sounds cool! But how does it work?"

"Hmmm..."Ashfeather stopped to think about it. Then again, he hadn't heard a lot of instructions on how to take care of a falcon; he thought it was like raising a hawk. So he mewed, "You know, I never actually thought about that. But let's try this. Falco, go to Rainbreeze in the South Pole," he told the falcon, flicking his tail away hopefully.

But Falco shook his head in confusion, making Ashfeather remark, "I think he gets it."

A screech made Ashfeather turn to see Tobias sitting on Goldwing's back, glaring angrily at Falco. Then, with a battle cry, the red-tailed hawk hopped off of his master's back and flew at his new falcon rival, his green eyes alive with fury. The two birds of prey wheeled furiously about Ashfeather as he tried to calm them.

"Falco! Be nice! You too, Tobias!" Ashfeather tried to meow. "Bad birds!"

**...**

Later on, Ashfeather and Nightfoot had from further hijinks in town, wagons loaded with money. Nightfoot felt proud of what she was doing, getting money to save the trouble of having to earn it. By the time they got back, hunting was finished, and so was battle training.

"Well, well, well," Silverheart's growl made Nightfoot glare over at her. "Look who decided to join us. Where have you two been? Off scamming again?"

"Yes," Nightfoot retorted, holding her head high. "Yes we were."

"And you don't think what you're doing is dangerous?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Really."

Silverheart snorted. "So what's this then?" she growled, waving some kind of paper in front of Nightfoot's nose.

Exasperated, Nightfoot spat, "I don't know! I mean, seriously, what the hell is wrong with you cats? I'm _blind!_"

"Don't you get it, Nightfoot?" the WaterClan warrior hissed. "It's a wanted poster of you! And now you're called 'The Gray Bandit'. Is that what they're calling you now? How could you even be proud of this?"

"Where did you get that?" Nightfoot screeched. Ashfeather had agreed to keep this a secret!

Silverheart growled, "It doesn't matter where I got it. The fact is-"

But Nightfoot snapped, "The fact is that you went through my stuff! You had no right to do that!"

"Well, your den was in a mess anyways, and I was just cleaning it up," Silverheart retorted. "And while I did so, I happened to stumble across it."

"That's a lie!" Nightfoot hissed, standing nose-to-nose with her former mentor. "You're lying, you bitch!"

Silverheart snarled, "Fine! It's a lie. But you've been out of control lately! I knew something was up. I knew you were hiding something, and you were!" As Nightfoot swatted the poster out of Silverheart's jaws and stalked away, the white tabby warrior yowled after her, "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

Nightfoot turned back to face her with contempt. "Oh, really, _Mom_? Or what are you gonna do about it? Send me to my nest with no dinner?"

"If I WERE your mother, I'd do just that!" Silverheart snapped back.

"Well, you can't!" Nightfoot hissed over her shoulder. "You're not _my_ mom, and you're not _their_ mom either!" she added, pointing her tail at Goldwing and Ashfeather. Their eyes widened as the young gray warrior got them into this talk.

Silverheart snapped, "Don't be so mouse-brained! I never said I was!"

Nightfoot retorted, "But you certainly act like it! You think it's your job to boss everyone around, but it's not! You're just a regular warrior cat like the rest of us, so stop acting like you can tell me what to do! You're also not our leader! I can do whatever I want!"

"I don't act that way," Silverheart hissed, sounding chagrined. In a shrill and anxious voice, she meowed to her brother, "Ashfeather, do I act motherly?"

"Sorry, sis. I'm staying out of this one," Ashfeather replied, scooting away.

A hiss told Nightfoot that Silverheart was dismayed at hearing this. So she meowed, "What do _you_ think, Goldwing? Do I act like a mom?"

Goldwing, who sounded like he was licking himself, muttered in between licks, "Well, I..."

"Stop licking yourself and speak clearly when you talk!" Silverheart snapped. Nightfoot rolled her eyes; her former mentor had just proven her point.

"Yes, ma'am!" Goldwing yelped in a shamed tone, sitting straight up.

"Rrrr...I can't stand being around you right now!" Nightfoot hissed, stalking away from their little Clan.

"Good!" Silverheart yowled after her. "Because neither can I!"

At this, she turned around and stalked over to the other end of the camp. Unknowingly to both she-cats, Goldwing and Ashfeather were watching them with a mixture of shock and sympathy. Falco was the first to say something, for he let out a mournful caw.

"I know that feeling, Falco," Ashfeather told the falcon. "Why can't they just get along?"

**...**

Still later in the day, things hadn't changed. Silverheart and Nightfoot were sitting resentfully at opposite ends of the camp, not talking to one another. Goldwing and Ashfeather were sitting together and watching them, quietly having a few bites of prey. Tobias and Falco were perched on different tree branches away from each other.

Ashfeather had no idea what was going on inside their heads, but he knew this couldn't go on. They had to go and find where Emberstar told them to meet his army at, but at this rate, they were not going to go anywhere. But as he thought this, he had an idea.

"Hey Goldwing, wanna test out my falcon with me? I've got an idea," he whispered.

"Sure," Goldwing replied. He scooted closer so that Ashfeather could whisper in his ear.

When his friend got into earshot, Ashfeather whispered, "Okay, here's the plan. I'll send a note to Silverheart that says it's from Nightfoot, saying she wants to apologize. Then everyone will be friends again. How about it?"

The tiger-striped warrior pulled away and purred, "Ashfeather, you never fail to impress me with your ideas."

"It's a gift," Ashfeather purred smugly. Then he took a pen and paper and composed a missive; despite being cats, all cats had learned to write like Twolegs. "'Dear Silverheart. I'm sorry for everything. Your friend, Nightfoot.'"

He slid the note into Falco's dispatch tube, and the falcon flew over to Silverheart, who gave him confused look. She took the note out of the tube and began to read through it, her mouth forming the words her brother wrote down. Ashfeather was hoping this would work, and they could all get along again. But...

"Ashfeather, I know you wrote this! Nightfoot can't write! StarClan dammit, you're all driving me crazy!" she snarled, stalking away.

When she was gone, Goldwing hung his head and groaned, "I can't believe we forgot Nightfoot can't write."

"Yep, we're mouse-brains," Ashfeather agreed.

"So we just send a note to Nightfoot and pretend it's from Silverheart?" the Avatar Cat asked.

Ashfeather shook his head. "I don't really think so. We're just gonna run into a similar problem. Sorry, Falco, but I'm gonna have to do this without your help." Noticing Nightfoot sitting not too far away, he padded over to her and nudged her gently to her paws. "Come on, Nightfoot. We need to talk."

Nightfoot scowled up at him, but she said nothing. Instead, she sighed and followed the black warrior away towards the cliffs.

**...**

Noticing Silverheart's shadow above it, the salmon quickly started thrashing its tail to get away from her. Silverheart still felt angry about earlier, so she forgot her lessons of waiting and leapt at the fish. However, she missed, and the fish began swimming back to the falls...where it was quickly eaten by a visiting grizzly bear. Silverheart let out a growl and sat down in the shallow water, letting it soak her white tabby paws.

_That mouse-brained Nightfoot! This is all her fault! _she hissed softly to herself. She felt that this whole mess could be avoided if Nightfoot had not been scamming others. Silverheart even felt that Ashfeather and Goldwing were falling for her tricks and joining her, forgetting why they had even come here for.

_Why did I even mentor her in the first place?_

"Wait a minute." Nightfoot's voice told Silverheart that the blind warrior was sitting on a cliff way above her head. "You brought me out here just to tell me your sister's not as irritating as I thought she'd be?"

"Nah, she can be a real pain in the ass," Ashfeather's voice meowed, making Silverheart scowl. "She always wants to be right about everything, she gets all too bossy, involved, and basically in your business."

Nightfoot snorted. "I don't know how you can deal with it. She's all meow and no scratch."

Silverheart let out a low snarl. If they thought that much about what she was like, then they could all goof off alone all they liked!

But then... "Actually, I rely on it in some way or the other."

This made Silverheart stop snarling and scowling. Her brother had never admitted on relying on a mothering cat before.

"I don't understand," Nightfoot mewed.

So Ashfeather began, "When our mother was killed, that was the hardest time in my entire life. Our Clan became a mess, but Silverheart...she had so much strength in her. Even when she was still a kit, she stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the emptiness left by our mother Seamist."

Silverheart looked down to the water at this. That was when Nightfoot mewed, "Damn. Guess I never thought about that."

"Yeah," Ashfeather remarked. "I'm gonna tell you something as crazy as a fox in a fit. I never told anyone this before, but to tell you the truth, I don't think I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like Silverheart's been the one looking out for me in our young lives. She's always been the one that's there for us, and now, when I try to remember what our mother looked like, Silverheart's face is the only face I can picture. That's how much she means to me. I love my little sister a lot."

Silverheart held back a sob, for she was overcome at what she heard. She had no idea Ashfeather felt like that; that must have explained why he always stuck beside her in apprentice training. But she had no idea he always thought of her whenever he thought of their dead mother.

"To tell you the truth, Silverheart DOES act motherly, but that's not bad," Nightfoot spoke up. "She's gentle and kind, and she actually cares about me. The real me. That's more than my own mom ever did."

Hearing this, Silverheart lowered her head in sadness and shame. Of course what Nightfoot did was wrong, but what Nightfoot said there really touched her heart. Her kittypet mother would not have approved of what she did and punish her bad for it, but Silverheart realized that was why Nightfoot hated her own mother. She wanted a true one, and Silverheart herself was that mother.

"Thanks, Ashfeather," Nightfoot purred. Then her voice hardened as a smack was heard and she hissed, "And don't tell her I said any of that!"

Ashfeather mewed, "My lips are sealed. I won't say that to her."

**...**

As the sun began to set, Silverheart sighed peacefully as she let Goldwing groom her neck fur. As she felt the Avatar Cat's tongue rasp over her pelt, she wondered what to say about Nightfoot. She knew she owed her former apprentice an apology, but she had to do something first to prove she could also be fun.

So when Ashfeather and Nightfoot came back, Silverheart stood up as Goldwing joined up with the other two cats. Tobias, who was sitting beside them, flew up onto one of Archie's horns, far away from Falco.

"Hey, Nightfoot," Silverheart mewed as she got closer. "Listen...I'm sorry for how bossy I must have acted. I just wanted to..."

"Just stop." Nightfoot held up a tail as she mewed this. "You don't need to apologize. I'm the one who should say sorry. I was the one being a stupid mouse-brain. You were right. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them for good."

Noticing that look, Silverheart let her voice become sly as she mewed, "Actually, I wasn't only going to just apologize. I was gonna say...I wanna pull a scam with you!"

Goldwing and Ashfeather, who were chatting quietly, turned to her in shock when she said that. But she ignored that as Nightfoot yelped, "What? You wanna pull a scam? I thought you hated those?"

"This is to make up for the past few days," Silverheart meowed. "And this won't just be any old scam...this is gonna be the ultimate scam!" This made the two toms fall to the ground. "So what do you say, Nightfoot? Just you and me. One last go. You in?"

A big smile crossed the gray she-cat's face as she purred, "Hell yeah! Now what's this idea of yours?"

At that, the two schemers padded off together, ready to talk about their plan. The toms stayed lying supine on the ground, foaming at the mouth. But that was another story.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Okay, here's the plan," Silverheart whispered into Nightfoot's ear. "This wanted poster says you're worth a lot of money. Ten times more than you've made recently, right?"

Nightfoot nodded. "Yeah."

Silverheart purred, "Good. So I'll pretend to betray you and turn you in so we can collect the reward. Then you MetalBend yourself out of prison, and we'll be on our way."

"It's risky and dangerous," Nightfoot muttered. But the smile on her face stayed as she added, "I love how you're thinking right now!"

Inwardly, Silverheart gave a small purr to the blind EarthClan she-cat. This was one plan that they could complete together.

**...**

_So far, so good, _Silverheart thought as she raced over the rooftops, keeping an eye on Nightfoot. As soon as they had gone into the city, they both startled a pack of dogs and forced them to give chase, FireClan warriors following them. The swift panting she heard was Nightfoot sprinting around the statue of Darkstar that towered above the town.

By this time, Nightfoot was finally captured and brought to the ground in a net. Silverheart saw this as a chance for their plan to go forth. So she pulled on a stern and angry face and stalked forth to face Nightfoot, who was pretending to glare up at her.

"How could you do this?" Nightfoot spat. "Traitor!"

"You brought this on yourself," the pretty white tabby she-cat retorted, keeping her voice as stern as she could make it. She turned her back on her and added, "I had no choice."

But she looked over her shoulder to give a wink towards Nightfoot, who winked back. Just as the gray she-cat was dragged away, the tan furred mayor approached her.

"You did the right thing," he meowed, dipping his head to her. "Turning in the Gray Bandit."

Silverheart lifted up her tail and replied pompously, "The right thing is its own reward. And a warrior would protect her Clan even at the cost of her own life."

The mayor then replied in a strange lofty tone, "Well, I'm happy to hear that."

The tone of his voice confused her. "But...I still want the actual reward."

"Of course. Right this way."

**...**

At last, Nightfoot was dragged to the jail and thrown into a cell. This was the perfect chance to break out of this cell, rejoin Silverheart, get the reward, and leave town. She felt satisfaction flow through her muscles as she sunk her claws into the wooden floor.

_What? Wooden? _Confused, she began scraping around, trying to find metal, but she found none. Instead, her claws met wood, hard splintery wood.

"Hey, what kind of cell is this?" she called to the warrior who threw her in.

"A wooden one, you little fish-heart," the female voice growled before it left.

Nightfoot tried to claw at the wood once again, but she saw that this was thick wood, the kind a cat's claws could bleed from. And of course, she could scent blood on her paws as she claws at the wood. But it was no use; Silverheart's plan had failed.

**...**

Silverheart let her tail tip thump gently on the chair she was sitting on, waiting for the reward. So far, things in the plan were going great. And she remembered to just collect the reward and wait while Nightfoot got out of prison. Then they could leave this place behind and forget anything that happened here.

The mayor was just digging through the moneybox when the door opened. Silverheart leapt off of her seat, wondering who it was, for that being did not come into the room right away. But just then, the mayor looked up at the newcomer.

"That's her," he hissed, flicking his tail at Silverheart. "That's the cat you were looking for."

Silverheart turned around to see who it was, and what she saw made her yelp with horror. The huge hulking figure of the third-eyed tiger was now looming over her, his lips peeled back to reveal sharp yellow fangs. His black-striped orange pelt was unusually smooth despite his own victory, but his tail tip was twitching to and fro.

The way his amber eyes leered down at her made Silverheart cringe in terror, realizing that her plan had failed. But she had no time to react, for the tiger reached down, grabbed her roughly around the throat in his jaws, and stalked away.

**...**

"Do you think this scam should take this long?" Goldwing muttered. The AirClan warrior was pacing around, his whiskers twitching and his gray eyes worried.

"Just wondering the same thing. We'd better check it out," Ashfeather spoke up, getting to his paws. Just before the two toms left, he called after Tobias and Falco, "You two behave. Archie, you're in charge."

But as soon as the cats left, the two birds began to fight anyway, cawing at each other angrily, but a reproving roar from Archie put a quick stop to that. So the two birds of prey looked away from each other as quick as they could.

**...**

Nightfoot scraped her claws on the wood as Silverheart's thicker fur pressed against her smaller frame. She was thankful that the WaterClan warrior was here with her, but she was shocked at what she just told her. The third-eyed tiger with the metal legs had somehow found them and was ready for vengeance. But then she realized why he had come over to town.

"Wait a minute," Nightfoot mewed before Silverheart could say anything. "It's a trap!"

If she could see, she would see Silverheart rolling her eyes. "Really? No duh!" she growled in a sarcastic tone. "Is that why we're sitting in a wooden cage? Gee, how'd you figure that one out?"

Nightfoot shook her head. "No, smartass! We're the bait! He wants to get Goldwing!"

"I can't believe I was so mouse-brained!" Silverheart snapped. To Nightfoot, she growled, "See, this is why I'm against these swindles. I knew something like this would happen! That's why I wanted you to stop!"

"But...this was _your_ idea," Nightfoot mewed, shrinking back against a corner. Despite not being scared of anything, Silverheart being in a bad temper scared her a bit.

She heard a sigh and then... "I know...I'm sorry, Nightfoot. I just wanted to show you that I'm not so maternal all the time. I wanted to show you that I can be a fun cat."

This made Nightfoot look up from cowering in the cage. "But you ARE fun! If nothing else, you're at least fun to argue with."

"I know your relationship with your parents is difficult, and I'm sorry what I said about that," her former mentor sighed.

"It's okay," Nightfoot replied. She also hadn't meant what she said about her parents. She didn't really hate them; she was just angry at them for sheltering her. This just made her miss them even more than ever, and she wanted to let them know that she was okay.

So she mewed, her voice shaking, "I was really mad when you said that because...maybe it's true. I try not to think about it, but when I left my home, I probably really hurt them. I-I didn't mean to, Silverheart...I miss them so much..."

But she didn't say anymore, for as she felt the tears roll down her cheeks, she hung her head and sobbed quietly. She could hardly feel sympathy radiate from Silverheart's pelt like a hot coal as she tried to comfort her with a hug. Feeling like being beside her mother again, Nightfoot leaned against her and let her tears fall.

**...**

Strange enough, when they went into town, the streets were empty. Ashfeather thought everyone moved away, but he guessed they were out looking for Nightfoot and Silverheart. Goldwing was walking beside him, looking from the left to the right as he sniffed the air.

"Where do you think they're at?" Ashfeather asked, standing on his hind legs for a better look.

"Where do you think _anyone's_ at?" Goldwing muttered, looking around too.

Unknowingly to them, just above the two warriors, a dark figure was watching them through narrowed eyes. But just then, the two toms looked up in time to see who it was: the third-eyed tiger glaring down at them. His metallic legs were giving off glinting in the dying sunlight, and drool was dripping from his yellow fangs.

As he drew in his breath in order to FireBend at them, Goldwing pushed Ashfeather out of the way, yowling for him to watch out. Just then, the tiger let loose a blast from his third eye; the toms barely managed to dodge it, leaping behind a pillar as dust shrouded the area. While the tiger sniffed the air, Goldwing peeked out from behind it.

"It's Sparky-Sparky Boom Cat!" he rasped.

Ashfeather nodded. "You know what? I don't think that name's gonna fit."

Too late. The tiger had already heard them talking, so he leapt down to the ground and fired yet another shot at them. Quickly, the two warriors leapt away from the pillar and ran for it, the tiger hard on their tails.

**...**

"What are we gonna do?" Silverheart mewed. For the she-cats had heard the roars of the tiger and the yowls of the two toms. Now they could do nothing but hear the fight, which was worse than being in the fight itself.

Nightfoot hissed, "Hell, I don't know! I wish we had earth or water. Bending items!"

Silverheart looked over at her. "What about your space earth? You could make a saw and hack through the wood."

"I left it back at camp," Nightfoot hissed, letting low a soft curse. "I was worried they would take it."

Silverheart nodded, knowing that was true, but the cage inside the room was becoming too hot for them. Panting, she felt her saliva drip down onto the ground and allow the wood to absorb it. Then she realized something...her own saliva was the key to escape.

Dogs had been known to pant when they were hot, and so did the ancient Twolegs, though they had to sweat. And there was other ways to use WaterBending besides using water; soup and drinks were also examples. And if those could work, then it would work the same for saliva. So she got to her paws and began leaping around the small space of the cage, swiping her paws in the air as if she was fighting an invisible enemy.

"Silverheart? You okay?" Nightfoot asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah...just fine..." Silverheart grunted, performing double swipes with one of her forepaws.

The gray she-cat still looked confused. "Well, what're you doing anyways?"

Silverheart let out a gasp as she panted, "I'm making my own water! With saliva!"

At this, she swiped the saliva that dripped from her mouth against the cell bars, cutting deep swipes in them. Nightfoot looked amazed as she "saw" what her former mentor was doing.

"Silverheart, you're a genius!" she cheered. "A drippy drooling genius!"

Silverheart panted some more and Bended some more saliva from its glands towards the bars. One satisfying slice, and...the bars shattered until splinters flew everywhere. The two she-cats kept their heads down until the splinters cleared away before leaping out of the cage. To their surprise, there was no one in the lobby area, so they took their reward and fled the area.

_StarClan, help us make it!_

When the two she-cats made it to the town square, they saw Goldwing and Ashfeather evading all of the tiger's attacks. Fear made Silverheart's heart thump when she saw the tiger's huge claws scrape at Goldwing, narrowly missing his tail. Ashfeather was having better luck, but not even he could defeat this beast.

"This tiger's too good!" the black tom panted, bearing a scratch he received earlier. "He can shoot fire from his brain!"

"How about we split up?" Goldwing panted, veering off to one side. "He can't chase us both at the same time."

So the two cats split up, Silverheart following Goldwing and Nightfoot following Ashfeather. As Goldwing ran along a roof, the tiger (who was chasing both cats) spotted him and fired. The blast sent the tiger-striped cat hurtling into the forehead of the statue of Darkstar, then he fell to the ground, dazed and bleeding from the impact.

Silverheart felt her fur bristle when she saw the tiger stalk up to him and raise his paw, ready to do the death blow. Quickly, she sent a stream of water at the tiger's paw, freezing it with ice. The tiger roared in anger and tried to break free while Goldwing looked up at Silverheart, Nightfoot and Ashfeather beside her.

"Goldwing! Get up!" she pleaded.

"Yeah! Let's get outta here and quick!" Nightfoot added.

So when Goldwing got to his paws, the four warriors fled but not before the tiger smashed his ice mitt apart. As he prepared to fire at them once again, Nightfoot kicked a rock up from the ground with bending and kicked it at him. He destroyed it with another fire blast, but something strange happened.

A piece of the rubble flew into his forehead and struck his third eye, knocking him to the ground and apparently causing him extreme pain. The tiger let out a roar of pain as the rock bounced off his third eye, pawing at the weak spot. Snarling, he got up and tried to resume his attack, but his power had somehow been turned against him. As he tried to focus his "laser beam" and fire it at the cats, the air around him ignited and exploded.

"Hey, I got the perfect name for that tiger!" Ashfeather meowed as they ran, looking behind them. "Explosion Cat!"

"Good job!" Nightfoot panted. "Now let's get the hell outta here before "Explosion Cat" catches us!"

Ashfeather nodded. "See? It fits so well!"

**...**

At last, Nightfoot could feel the wind in her fur as they descended towards a new campsite. The new campsite was in a slightly wooded area with a beach nearby and a couple of trees here and there. It was nighttime, and Ashfeather yawned and stretched as they landed.

"I'm bone tired," Ashfeather yawned. "What about you, Falco, my little feathered buddy? Yeah, you're a lazy little bird, aren't you?" he added affectionately as he tickled said falcon's chin.

Nightfoot rolled her eyes at that, but at the same time, a similar pang of homesickness stabbed her heart. She hadn't wanted for her parents to be worried, and she wanted to let them know that she was all right as a warrior travelling with other warriors. So when she approached Silverheart, who was busy grooming Goldwing, she began to plan out what she was going to do.

"Hey Silverheart," the gray she-cat mewed. "I need your help."

"Sure," Silverheart mewed, getting to her paws. "What do you need help with?"

The sincerity in the WaterClan she-cat's voice made Nightfoot shuffle her forepaws. "I need you to write some things down for me. I want to send a letter to my parents. To let them know that I'm okay."

Silverheart purred. "Of course. I'd be more than happy to help."

Nightfoot purred along with her. It had been a rough three days of bickering and ignoring like what happened moons ago. But thanks to teamwork and bonding (and Silverheart learning how to DroolBend, as she liked to call it), things were turning out okay.

When they got ready, Silverheart wrote down everything Nightfoot told her to write, including how much she loved her parents. The letter written, Nightfoot slipped it into Falco's dispatch tube, and the peregrine falcon soared off into the night sky. It took only a few seconds, however, for Ashfeather to say something.

"Where's Falco?"

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Well, thank God this chapter's over! And that was a nice thing you did for Toph, Katara.**

**Aang: (Hugs her close) He's right. That's one of the reasons I love about you.**

**Katara: (Smiles) Yeah...I just wanted to know if her parents would accept her for who she was.**

**Aang: And they did. I'm proud of what you did.**

**Katara: (Smiles and kisses him) Thanks.**

**AvatarCat12: Now that that's done, let's go on with the review thing and the preview for The Puppet Master. (To the readers) Read and review, everyone! I'm not sure what prizes to give out this time, but you can suggest one, and it'll come to you virtually. I allow advice and constructive criticism on here, not flames.**

**Preview: AvatarClan have stopped at a local town where supernatural activity is stirring, and cats are going missing. Silverheart makes a special connection with one of these cats, but Ashfeather is very skeptical about this new cat. Meanwhile, Nightfoot keeps hearing noises under the ground. Is this new cat a friend or foe? And what is with the noises?**

**All three: See ya next time!**


	8. The Puppet Master

**AvatarCat12: Hey there, everyone. Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while. Right now, Aang and I are the only ones in here.**

**Aang: Katara's away for the chapter because she couldn't stand to see her cat form doing you-know-what. I know how she feels.**

**AvatarCat12: But you don't use you-know-what. You know what the you-know-what is.**

**Aang: I know, but she's my girlfriend. It's natural for me to be worried.**

**AvatarCat12; ...you've got a point there. So anyways, folks, Aang here would like to say the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 owns neither series. Never has, never will.**

**Summary: ****AvatarClan have stopped at a local town where supernatural activity is stirring, and cats are going missing. Silverheart makes a special connection with one of these cats, but Ashfeather is very skeptical about this new cat. Meanwhile, Nightfoot keeps hearing noises under the ground. Is this new cat a friend or foe? And what is with the noises?**

**Uploading Date: July 31, 2012**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Puppet Master**_

AvatarClan had not seen any signs of Explosion Cat or any other FireClan warrior since they went to Fountain City. They had been on the road now and then again, helping some cats out. One time, they had even chased away a large yet young Daspletosaurus from a village thanks to Archie. Silverheart was afraid that Nightfoot would use scams to get more money from there, but she told herself that it was okay. But that's another story.

_I think we all learned our lessons._

It felt good to be camping under the waxing moon hovering in the night sky, almost full. They had stopped in the woods not far from a field of red flowers, a single large mountain far away underneath the bright moon. Archie was fast asleep inside a cave, Tobias sleeping peacefully due to Falco leaving the pack. The four cats had gathered around a campfire underneath a gnarled and twisted tree, listening to scary stories. Right now, Ashfeather was telling one.

"Suddenly, they heard something down the tunnel in the dark. Oooh..." he spoke, making his voice sound like a ghost. "It came into the torchlight, a red glint on itself. And they knew the blade of Wingtail...was _haunted!_ Aahhhh!"

To prove his story was good, he dramatically pulled his space sword out and yowled in an attempt to be scary. But the other three were unimpressed; Silverheart knew she could tell a better story.

"I think I liked 'the cat who stood on a grave' story better," Goldwing spoke up.

"Yeah," Nightfoot added, licking a paw and cleaning her ear with it. "WaterClan slumber parties must surely suck, huh?"

"Hold on, I've got one," Silverheart meowed. "I got a story to tell, and this is a true Southern WaterClan story."

Ashfeather raised a brow at her. "Is it one of those 'an old friend of my cousin knew someone that this happened to' stories?"

Silverheart shook her head. "No. It happened to Mom."

The others quickly looked up at the sound of the dead WaterClan queen. Silverheart recalled hearing this story when she and her brother were kits, listening to their father's story about their mother. Seamist had told Emberstar that it was past their bedtime, but Silverheart guessed she didn't want them to listen at night. It was only until morning that Seamist told them what really happened.

So everyone gathered around the campfire while Silverheart began to tell her story. She had decided to tell her story in a scary tone, and she began:

"One harsh leaf-bare, when Mom was a little kit named Seakit, a snowstorm buried the camp for about a moon. A half-moon later, Mom realized she hadn't seen her friend Freezekit since the storm. So she and some of the warriors went to check on Freezekit and her mother. When they got to the fallen tree log where they sheltered under, no one was home, and there was just a fire flickering in the far side of the log. Everyone thought either the storm or a wolf got them. So while the warriors went out to search, Mom stayed in the log. When she was alone, she heard a voice, and it sounded like this."

To make them squirm, Silverheart went on in a frightening high voice, "'It's so cold. I can't get warm.'" As they squirmed, she went on, "Mom turned and saw Freezekit standing by the fire. She was blue as if she was frozen, not gray-&-white. Mom went outside for help, but...when the warriors came back, Freezekit was gone."

During the story, Goldwing had wrapped Tobias' wings around his head nervously. Ashfeather had yelped and scrambled up a tree, hiding in the leaves and his pale blue eyes wide. Nightfoot was the only one who didn't flinch, but her gray fur DID seem a bit ruffled.

"Where'd she go?" Ashfeather asked from his tree perch.

"No one knows," Silverheart replied. "The leaf-bare log still stands empty today. But sometimes, cats can see smoke coming up from the holes in the log, like little Freezekit is still trying to get warm from the harsh weather."

As the gang huddled around the fire (Ashfeather had finally climbed down from the oak tree), Silverheart took the time to look up through the twisted tree limbs. Now that she had finished telling the story, the night sounds suddenly stopped. Not even a cricket chirped. And just then, Nightfoot gasped and started pawing the ground.

"Guys, did you hear that?" the gray she-cat mewed. "I hear cats under the mountain. And I think they're screeching."

Quickly, her friends (and Tobias) clung onto each other, trembling with fear. Then Ashfeather regained his composure, meowing smugly, "Ha ha ha, Nightfoot. Nice try."

Nightfoot glared at him. "No, I'm serious, smartass! I hear something!"

"I think we're all just a bit jumpy from the ghost stories," Silverheart tried to reason.

But just then... "Hey...they stopped," Nightfoot meowed, feeling the ground again.

"Okay, NOW I'm getting creeped out," Goldwing piped up, fear in his dark gray eyes.

"Hello, young'uns."

All three older warriors yowled in alarm and ran into the bushes where Nightfoot was staying in, much to her irritation. Tobias had taken refuge in the tree where Ashfeather had hid in earlier. But when this new cat came near, Silverheart let her fur lie flat and cursed herself for being a mouse-heart.

In the fire's light was an elderly she-cat with a dark tortoiseshell pelt and dark orange eyes. The she-cat's voice sounded croaky yet calm as she meowed, "Sorry to scare you four. My name is Tawny. You shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night, what with all the wolves and owls on their nightly hunt. I have a hostel nearby, so why don't you come back there for some cream and warm beds?"

"Yes please!" Ashfeather mewed, slipping out of the bush. Silverheart joined her brother while Goldwing and Nightfoot followed them.

Tawny gave the Clan warriors a kind old smile before padding away from the trees and towards the grasslands. One way or another, Silverheart was strongly reminded by this old loner of her grandmother Rainbreeze. So, wanting to know more about this old cat, she followed Tawny as her friends trailed warily behind her, but Ashfeather leapt ahead of them.

**...**

The inn was resting at the top of a steep slope, several houses situated below. For some reason, no other cats were around at the inn, but Silverheart guessed lots of guests did not come by a lot. Besides, the inn and its village were surrounded by a small patch of deep dark woods while the grasslands were to the south.

When all five cats made it to the inn, everyone had gathered around a square table under a single lit lamp in the dining room. The others all had bowls of cream while Silverheart was patiently waiting for her bowl. She had taken the time to look around and marvel at scrolls of records from the five ancient Clans.

"Thank you for letting us stay here for the night, Tawny," Silverheart purred as she thankfully accepted her bowl of cream. "Your inn is really lovely."

"Aren't you a sweet young cat?" Tawny purred back. "You know, you should be careful. Besides the wolves and owls being active at night, cats have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in."

This made all four warriors share confused glances; they had not heard anything about other cats disappearing in the dark woods. Then Ashfeather asked, "What do you mean by 'disappearing?'"

Tawny turned her dark orange eyes to the black tom and meowed in an ominous voice, "When the moon turns full, cats go into the woods to explore or hunt, but they never come out. And they are never heard from ever again…now who wants some more cream?" she asked, her voice now more friendly.

Silverheart exchanged a fearful glance with her friends, who also looked the same. She had not known that cats were disappearing or...even dying in the woods. The very thought of them being lost forever in the dark forest frightened her a bit.

"Oh, don't look so worried; you'll all be safe here," Tawny reassured all four warriors. "Now why don't I show you to your rooms, and you can get a good night's rest?"

**...**

Ashfeather laid completely still in his nest while Tobias was asleep on one of the dressers, his head under one wing. He could hear the creaking of old trees outside and the wind blowing against the old inn. So Ashfeather kept rolling over, trying to get comfortable, but he couldn't. The black tom still felt a bit scared about cats disappearing into the dark woods.

So then, he shut his eyes in hopes of finally getting to sleep. But suddenly, a high-pitched squeak made him open his eyes in terror. So Ashfeather sat up and got into a defensive position, letting his claws slide out. Tobias chirped in terror as he flew off of the dresser and hid under a blanket. Ashfeather looked around some more, but nothing was there, so he retracted his claws and laid back down.

"I know, Tobias. This place spooks the stuffing outta me," he meowed as Tobias chirped some more. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep tonight."

So Ashfeather burrowed under the covers and tried to ignore the scraping sounds on the roof. And in the dead tree next to the window, he swore he saw a red-eyed dark black figure glaring at him through the darkness. He quickly ducked his head under the blanket and tried hard to sleep.

**...**

When Silverheart went with Tawny to check up on her brother, she found herself enjoying the nice little inn a lot more. She had waken up to hear Nightfoot and Goldwing talking about some weird noises outside the inn, but she dismissed the tones of their voices. Those were probably raccoons or possums out for food.

She and Tawny pushed their way into the room where Ashfeather was sleeping at, Silverheart rolling her eyes at the sight of her brother. Ashfeather was lying over the side of his nest on the floor, snoring and drooling. Tawny padded up to nudge him awake, casting her shadow over his face.

"Rise and shine," the old tortoiseshell purred. "Time to go shopping."

Ashfeather groaned and opened his eyes, looking up at the two she-cats with sleep sand in his eyes. Silverheart just smiled down at her brother happily, hoping to get the day started. Plus, she had not helped out an elder for a very long while, not since she left the Southern WaterClan and her grandmother Rainbreeze.

Soon enough later on, they had all went to town to do some shopping. Ashfeather was carrying bags on his broad shoulders in the town market, but he still looked tired. Goldwing and Nightfoot did not look that tired; instead, they looked wide awake and alert for anything. Silverheart looked on as Tawny finished handing three coins to a merchant. The old tabby trader smiled and waved goodbye as all five cats padded away and into the street.

"He seems to like you," Silverheart told Tawny, matching her pace. "How about we go back sometime and see if he'll give us some free Komodo dragon steaks?" she added, giving the elder a wink as she let her tongue lick her lips a bit.

"You would want me to use my feminine charms to prey on that poor tomcat?" Tawny asked incredulously as if she was offended. But then she gave her a smile as she purred, "I think you and I will get along smoothly."

Silverheart purred at this as she and Tawny padded on through the street, the other three warriors trailing behind. Now that she was hanging out with Tawny, she felt like she was hanging around with Rainbreeze once again.

_I wish Rainbreeze met this cat. She seems really nice._

"You won't have any ember trout for seven days?"

Silverheart swiveled her ears about to hear what was going on. By the sounds of their voices, whoever was meowing seemed to be whispering.

"Well, I have to send my messenger to Cinder Island to fetch 'em. It's a two-day trip."

"Oh yeah...I forgot there for a minute. Tomorrow's the full moon."

"Exactly. A full moon used to be a symbol of peace in the old Clans, but here? No. So I can't afford to lose another messenger in the woods."

Behind Silverheart and Tawny, the other three warriors were padding past the citizen and the merchant, overhearing their conversation. Their next words made Silverheart feel a bit worried for a moment.

"Cats vanishing in the woods, weird stuff during full moons..." Ashfeather was mumbling to Goldwing. "Damn, this stinks of StarClan trickeries!"

Silverheart wanted to scold her brother for thinking of StarClan like that. But she kept her mouth closed; it was her brother's opinion, after all. But she stopped thinking as Goldwing spoke up.

"If we take around town, we'll find out what these cats did to the ecosystem to make StarClan so angry," the Avatar Cat suggested.

Ashfeather nodded. "Yeah. And _then_ you can sew up this little mystery, lickety-split and in Avatar Cat-style!"

Goldwing nodded back. "Yep. Helping others out...it's what I do. All in a day's work for the Avatar Cat."

As the group walked on a bit more, Tawny stopped in front of Silverheart. Before the white tabby she-cat could ask what was going on, the elder meowed, "Would your four like to take those bags back to the inn? I just need to run a few more errands. I won't be long."

When Silverheart nodded, Ashfeather looked right into Tawny's face and remarked, "This is a strange little town you've got here."

"Strange town for strange cats," Tawny replied cryptically while she smiled. And right before Ashfeather could ask her what that meant, the old dark tortoiseshell padded away from them and near the closest shop.

Ashfeather watched her go, an odd confused look on his face. Silverheart also wanted to know what she meant by that, but she knew not to argue. She knew she would never try to pry around someone else's business.

**...**

When they got back to the inn, they went straight to work. Ashfeather placed the wooden bucket of groceries on the table, a strange look on his face. Silverheart, who was helping Nightfoot out, looked up to see what was up.

"Tawny seems a little strange," the black cat muttered. "It like either she knows something, or she's hiding something."

"That's bullshit," Silverheart retorted. "She's a nice cat who took us in and gave us a place to stay for the night. Why, she kinda reminds me of Grandma."

Ashfeather stared at her in a defiant way. "I know. But what did she mean by that comment, 'strange cats?'"

Silverheart replied sarcastically, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because she found four strange cats camping in the dark woods at night? Isn't _that_ a little strange to you?"

"Hmmm..." Ashfeather paused to think for a moment. Then... "I'll take a look around here. See what I can find."

At that, he padded out of the kitchen and up a nearby flight of stairs. Silverheart, Goldwing, and Nightfoot followed after, their pawsteps quiet as they padded on the wooden floor. Silverheart wanted to pull her brother back by the tail and stop him from snooping around. They had been taken in for the night, and her own brother was taking unfair advantage of it.

"Ashfeather!" she hissed, catching up to him. "Ashfeather, what the hell are you doing? You can't snoop around someone's house!"

"I'll be fine," Ashfeather reassured her, opening one of the doors upstairs and glancing inside the dark room. It was only a simple bedroom, he seemed to realize, as he closed the door back.

Goldwing looked uneasy as he mewled, "I don't think this is a good idea. I mean, Tawny could be here at any minute."

Silverheart mewed, "Of course it's a bad idea!" To Ashfeather, she hissed, "You're gonna get us all in trouble! And what you're doing is just plain rude!"

Her brother merely retorted, "Hold on! I'm not done yet!"

Not wanting to give up on telling off Ashfeather, Silverheart gave him another warning hiss. However, he paid no attention. Instead, he pawed at a cabinet in the wall and grabbed the door handles. Then he tried to open it, grunting as he did so, but they seemed to be stuck.

"Come on..." he grunted, pulling as hard as he could. With one final tug, he finally wrenched the doors open.

To Silverheart's surprise, several string-puppets fell forward, being held in place by their strings. They all yelped in surprise, Ashfeather jumping back and unsheathing his claws at the puppets in fright. He had just backed up against the wall and hissed while his back arched and his black pelt bristled.

Goldwing's dark gray eyes were widened as he mewed, "Okay, NOW I'm frightened. Is anyone else frightened?"

"So? She's got a hobby," Silverheart retorted, stuffing the string-puppets back in and closing the door. "There's nothing frightening about that. Well, Ashfeather, I think you've looked enough. Tawny will be back anytime soon."

However, Ashfeather padded his way up into the dark attic, making Silverheart follow him. She could not believe he was continuing to snoop after he had been spooked a bit. When she caught up with him, Silverheart caught her brother trying to open a nearby door, but it was locked. Just behind them, Goldwing and Nightfoot padded up the stairs to join the WaterClan siblings.

Answering Silverheart's earlier meow, Ashfeather meowed, "Just an ordinary puppet-loving innkeeper, eh? Then why does she have a locked door up here in the attic?"

Silverheart growled angrily, "I think it's there just to keep nosy cats like you from snooping through her stuff!"

"Hypocrite," Nightfoot spoke up, yawning. "You went through MY stuff, remember?"

This made Silverheart glare at her former apprentice, but she didn't say anything.

"Yeah, well...we'll see," Ashfeather spoke up, waving his tail to stop another argument. He peered through the keyhole and narrowed his eyes a bit. Finally, he drew his head back and reported, "There's nothing in there except for a little chest."

Nightfoot kneaded her paws eagerly on the wooden floor. "Maybe it's a secret treasure!"

Hearing this, Ashfeather smiled gleefully at the thought of treasure. Silverheart and Goldwing frowned in disapproval at Nightfoot for what she said; thanks to her, Ashfeather would just get a lot nosier. Said cat unsheathed one claw and began to pick the door's lock with its tip.

"Ashfeather, what in the HELL do you think you're doing?" Silverheart hissed angrily. "Don't you realize you're breaking into a private room?"

"I have to see what's in there," Ashfeather replied. "Remember...we're cats. It's natural for cats to be curious."

There was a click, and the door opened. As it did, all four cats padded cautiously into the room and looked carefully around the room. Like what Ashfeather was, the room was entirely empty except for a small chest, sitting in the light and shining through the attic window. But this made Silverheart even more disturbed; she could not believe she was helping her brother snoop about someone else's home.

"I...don't think we should be doing this," Goldwing spoke up, looking as uneasy as Silverheart.

Ashfeather merely reached down and scooped the chest closer to the small pack. He unsheathed his claw once again and tried to open it, but like the door before it, the chest was locked.

"Maybe there's a key around here somewhere," the WaterClan warrior muttered. "Anyone seen a key anywhere?"

"Oh, hand it over!" Nightfoot growled.

So Ashfeather complied and pawed the chest over to Nightfoot. Then she took the collar made of space earth from her neck and Bended it into the shape of a large key. Giving a small meow of satisfaction, Nightfoot inserted the key inside the chest's lock and began turning it.

"Come on, come on!" Ashfeather mewled impatiently like a kit, kneading the floor with his paws.

Nightfoot glared at him. "This isn't as easy it looks, Sleepy. Just be patient."

Silverheart kept looking over her former apprentice's broad shoulders, blinking nervously. She just wanted to get out and pretend none of this happened, but at this pace, it was impossible. Goldwing seemed to be agreeing with her, for he meowed, "Guys...I don't know about this. It could end badly."

"I agree," Silverheart spoke up right away. "Screw this, I'm leaving."

Ashfeather just shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself. Come on, Nightfoot. Do it!"

Silverheart sighed with anger and began padding over to the door. But just when she reached it, she could hear a faint click was heard and turned to see Nightfoot nodding proudly to the two toms. She guessed they had succeeded in opening the small chest.

Both toms gathered around the chest, and even Silverheart hurried back to try and look inside. Even though she didn't want to snoop, she was just as curious to see what was inside that tiny little chest. Ashfeather was right; they were cats, and cats have a natural thing for curiosity. However, she wanted to find out what this thing was and then pretend she had not helped her brother snoop around.

They all carelessly pushed the smaller Nightfoot to the side, their cheeks pressed together in a comical way. The lid of the chest was slowly lifted, and Silverheart kneaded her paws on the floor, eager to see what was inside. Until...

"I'll tell you what's in there."

The three older cats screeched with fear and alarm and quickly turned around. When they did, Ashfeather quickly hid the chest behind him. Tawny was standing in the attic doorway and purring as she padded over towards them.

The three older warriors looked down with guilt as Ashfeather gently pushed the chest over to the old loner, who opened it and reached inside. This made Ashfeather's eyes widen with fear and anticipation, and his eyes went wider as Tawny started to lift the object from the chest. The four warriors looked up in fear as Tawny lifted the object in front of them. When Silverheart saw this item, she let out a sigh of relief.

_Yep. We're mouse-brains._

What was in the chest was...nothing more than a simple blue comb made from the bones of a whale. Noticing their looks, Tawny just smiled at them more cheerfully.

"That's it?" Ashfeather yelped. "An old comb?

"Yes. It's my greatest treasure," Tawny replied, her dark orange eyes narrowed with emotion. "It's the last thing I ever owned while growing up in the Southern WaterClan...like you two, Ashfeather and Silverheart."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Silverheart gaped on at the old loner while the others did the same. She never thought she would meet one of her old Clanmates here in FireClan...a Clanmate from when Rainbreeze herself must have been young. Now more than ever, she felt like she had to know this cat.

"How'd you know?" she asked.

"I heard you talking around your campfire when you were telling ghost stories," Tawny replied.

"But why didn't you tell us?" Ashfeather asked, curiosity now in his meow.

Tawny meowed, "I just wanted to surprise you. The reason why I bought all this food today is that I can fix you a big WaterClan dinner. Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, since we are not in WaterClan territory. But whale blubber is like seal blubber if you stew them long enough," she added, licking her maw with a bright red tongue.

Silverheart raised her tail in joy. _A WaterClan feast? Just like old times? This will be great!_

"Great. More blubber," Goldwing muttered with a grimace. Silverheart knew he still hated eating blubber after he tasted some when they were apprentices.

Ignoring the complaining from the Avatar Cat, Silverheart turned to Tawny with a purr. "I _knew_ I felt a bond with you at once!"

"And _I_ knew you were keeping a secret, so we're both right!" Ashfeather crowed proudly. After Silverheart nudged him hard in the shoulder, he added quickly, "But I'm sorry we snuck around your place. It was really wrong of us, and we won't do it again."

"Apology accepted," Tawny purred. "Now let's get down to cooking!"

**...**

Night had fallen over the land, and lights were lit up near the windows. Silverheart watched as Goldwing ran over to where Archie and Tobias were staying, a fish in his jaws. Once Goldwing opened the door and tossed the fish into Archie's mouth. Tobias, who was perched in the rafters, flew down and chirped furiously at the dragon. Archie spat the fish tail out, and Tobias grabbed the fish tail and flew off back to the rafters.

_I'm glad he didn't neglect them, _Silverheart thought with a smile. She had been proud of how the young AirClan warrior had matured lately along with taking training seriously. In time, she would know that he could save the world.

Just in time, Silverheart waited for Goldwing to be done as they turned back to inside the hostel. Nightfoot and Ashfeather were waiting at the table just as Tawny finished placing a bowl of soup on the table. Silverheart sat next to her brother at the dinner table while Goldwing sat next to Nightfoot, empty bowls placed in front of them.

"If I were you, I'd avoid the stewed seal blubber," Goldwing whispered into Nightfoot's ear.

"Really?" Nightfoot asked, raising a brow. "I thought it was whale blubber."

Now it was Goldwing's turn to raise a brow at her. "...close enough."

"Good to see you all settling in well," Tawny purred. "Now who wants five-flavor soup?"

The three oldest warriors shared looks before they raised their paws. Nightfoot looked around just once before shrugging and doing the same. So Tawny placed her forepaw over the bowl of soup and (to Silverheart's greatest surprise) Bended the liquid out of it. With a flick of her claws, the old tortoiseshell Bended the soup into everyone's bowls, much to their amazement.

Silverheart gasped at this. This cat was a WaterBender! And that meant...Silverheart realized she wasn't the only southern WaterBender anymore.

"You're a WaterBender?" she asked Tawny. "I've never met another one from our Clan before!"

Tawny nodded sadly. "That's true. FireClan had wiped them all out. I was the last one, a young warrior named Tawnyheart."

"So how'd you end up out here in FireClan territory?" Ashfeather asked her curiously.

"I was stolen from my home and my Clanmates," Tawny sighed sadly. "It was over around eight or nine years ago when the raids started. They came over and over again each time, rounding up more of our WaterBenders, and taking them captive. We did our best to hold them off like it said in the Warrior Code, but our numbers fell as the raids continued." Then bitterness rose in her mew as she rasped, "Finally, I was also captured, and they led me away in chains. I was the last WaterBender of the Southern WaterClan."

Silverheart sighed at this sadly, never having known to be persecuted for something that had happened before she was born. But just when she started feeling sorry for Tawny, she felt herself being pulled away from the inn and into a land of ice and snow. Then she recognized Tawny among the crowd of cats near a large city, young and beautiful with a lighter pelt. Another she-cat joined up with her, and Silverheart recognized the blue-eyed dark gray she-cat.

_Grandma! _She thought. She knew her grandmother had run away from the Northern WaterClan, her birthplace, to not be mates with Snowstorm, an elderly warrior she met on their journey. As she looked back to the Clan, Tawny was meowing something to Rainbreeze, and the two young she-cats giggled.

Suddenly, Tawny looked up as black snow began to fall from the sky. Silverheart froze in fear as she saw this; she knew this meant FireClan was arriving. Their eyes widening, the two she-cats raced up the steps to the top of the wall surrounding the village. Just as they did that, FireClan ships were now floating out in the water, large fireballs flying towards the Clan. They struck the walls, and FireClan warriors ran out onto the land, ash and soot falling all around them.

A tabby FireBender threw fireballs in every direction. Cats ran away in fright as another warrior caught up with his Clanmate. A gray WaterBender leapt out of the snow behind the FireBender, encasing them in a pillar of ice and knocking them away with a trail of ice from the ground. But a large net was thrown over him, and he was dragged off towards the ships.

Tawny, Rainbreeze, and some more WaterBenders were fighting the warriors. Tawny sliced her claws at a large brown tom attacking Rainbreeze while Rainbreeze thumped his belly with her hind paws. But just as they moved on to battle another warrior, the WaterBenders behind them were captured by the nets. A net was thrown over Tawny sliced it in half with her ice claws, a move Silverheart hadn't seen in a while.

Tawny rested from fighting, panting as she watched her Clanmates being dragged off towards the ships. As Rainbreeze retreated back to camp, blood oozing from her shoulder, Tawny sank her claws into the snow as she and several other WaterBenders raised their tails up. A FireClan ship that was left behind was being pushed up and trapped by the ice underneath that Tawny and her Clanmates were Bending.

_That's the ship Goldwing and I went onto! _Silverheart realized. She remembered back when she was an apprentice and she had been unwilling to get onto the FireClan ship. And it was also when Bearclaw had started chasing them. Her blood boiled at the thought of the dark tabby.

However, FireClan warriors were now arriving onto the frontline and fighting the WaterBenders. Each WaterBender except Tawny were either captured or killed, their blood splattering the bright snow. When those cats were either captured or killed, Tawny was left with so many FireBenders surrounding her, so she bowed her head in defeat. Soon enough, she was surrounded by three large rings of FireBenders as a FireClan flag fluttered not far away.

As Tawny was being led up the steps of a ship, her legs and neck in chains, she stopped at the top of the steps, flanked by the FireBenders. She looked over her shoulder at Rainbreeze, who had tears in her eyes, and a few other Clanmates looking back. Tawny closed her eyes, a few tears falling onto the metal while a shadow passed over her. The stairs were pulled up, the cats were hidden from view, and Silverheart felt herself being pulled back to the present.

Silverheart felt her heart wrench in sympathy when she saw Tawny's face, so old, lost, and very homesick. Now she knew why Tawny seemed to care about her; it was because Rainbreeze had been her best friend. So she padded over to the old tortoiseshell she-cat and laid her tail on her flank consolingly.

"They put us in terrible prisons here in FireClan, like we were rats," Tawny rasped. "But I was the only cat who managed to escape."

"How'd you escape?" Ashfeather asked. "And why did you stay in FireClan?"

Tawny let out a small soft hiss, but she looked up at the WaterClan tom. "I'm sorry. It's just too painful to talk about anymore."

"We understand how you feel, Tawny," Silverheart told her. "Completely. Our mother was killed in a raid when we were kits."

"Oh, you poor things," Tawny rasped, licking the younger she-cat comfortingly on the ear. "It's also painful for kittens to lose their mothers at such a young age."

Goldwing and Ashfeather bowed their heads solemnly. Silverheart knew that Ashfeather felt the same way about his mother's death and accepted his sister as a new motherly figure. And as for Goldwing, he had barely known his parents, for he had been taken from them before he was barely even weaned to go to training. Everyone in AvatarClan had lost their parents, no matter if those parents were either dead or alive.

"I can't tell you what it means to meet you," Silverheart meowed, turning back to Tawny. "It's an honor to meet a hero of WaterClan."

Tawny lifted her head up and gave her a faint smile. "I never thought I'd see the day when I meet another Southern WaterBender. I can teach you what I know so you can carry on the Southern Tradition when I'm gone. So what do you say?"

Those words made Silverheart's ears prick up. She had always wanted to learn more about the southern styles of WaterBending. There had been no WaterBenders in her camp when she and her brother were born, so she learned from the North. But to meet a cat who can help her learn the southern stuff...it was an honor.

So she purred excitedly, "Yes, yes of course! It would mean everything to me to learn about my heritage!"

At this, Tawny gave her a smile, her orange eyes shining bright in the candlelight. Behind them, Silverheart's friends were nodding to her as if agreeing with what Tawny said. Silverheart herself could barely contain her excitement in his paws.

_I get to learn from a Southern WaterBender!_

**...**

"Growing up at the South Pole, WaterBending cats are at home wherever snow and ice and seas thrive. But, as you probably noticed now on your travels, that isn't the case wherever you go."

Tawny and Silverheart had decided to take a walk the next morning. Now they were walking over a rocky hillside outside the village, the pebbles cluttering under their paws. Along the way, Tawny had begun telling Silverheart about more of WaterBending.

Silverheart nodded, knowing what that felt like. "I remember when my friends and I had been stranded in the desert. Our transportation got stolen, so we had to walk our way out of them. But in the desert, I felt like there was almost nothing I could do.

Tawny replied, "That's why you have to learn to control water wherever it exists. You can use any kinds of liquid to use as WaterBending."

"Yeah..." Silverheart mewed, blushing. She remembered when Explosion Cat trapped her and Nightfoot inside a wooden cage; there, she learned a new source of WaterBending. So out loud, she mewed, "One time, I've even used my own saliva for WaterBending."

"Hmmm..." Tawny muttered, eying her with interest. "That was very creative, Silverheart. Very creative indeed. You're thinking like a true master. But did you know you can even pull water out of thin air? Remember, Silverheart: keep an open mind on this. There's water in many places you've never even dreamed of!"

Then she raised her tail and created a circle over her head, collecting the moisture in the air. And as she finished speaking, the moisture formed around her unsheathed claws and turned them into ice claws. Finally, she swiped her paw through the air and hurled the icicles away from her, the icicles lodging themselves into the trunk of a nearby tree with ease.

Silverheart watched the move being performed admirably, unable to contain her joy. She had never seen a move like that before, but then again, there was so much more to learn. And with Tawny teaching her, they could teach Southern WaterClan cat to follow in their pawsteps. That way, their Clan could be saved.

**...**

Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot were padding a river in the countryside from the top of a mountain. They had decided to try and find out the source of the disappearance while Silverheart trained with Tawny. So far, they found nothing, but they had decided to stop and hunt on the way back to the inn.

"This has gotta be the nicest natural setting in FireClan," Goldwing spoke up as he lapped up some water from the river. "I don't see anything that would make a spirit go mad around here."

Nightfoot, who had been carrying a marmot in her jaws, dropped it to suggest, "Maybe the moon spirit just turned mean."

"Don't you say that! That's blasphemy, dammit!" Ashfeather yowled, sprinting up to her. He had been sniffing some yellow flowers when Nightfoot meowed this. "The moon spirit is a gentle loving she-cat! She rules the sky with compassion and...lunar goodness!"

Goldwing smiled a bit at what he said. He knew Ashfeather was talking about Moonfeather, whom he had a crush on back in the North Pole. It seemed he still loved her even though he now had a mate.

A squeal from the bushes made them all alert, but it was just another cat. The mottled gray tom was dragging a struggling snake out from underneath the bush, killing it with one slice to the throat.

"Excuse me," Goldwing meowed, padding up to him. "Can you tell us anything about the spirit that's been stealing cats recently?"

"The only cat who ever saw it and lived was Old Mole," the mottled gray loner replied.

"Where does he live?" Nightfoot asked, padding up to join them. Goldwing nodded, knowing they were getting closer to solving this mystery.

**...**

Silverheart and Tawny were now walking through the field of red flowers dotted with large rocks. The mountains were now quite a distance away from them. As she followed Tawny, Silverheart could not help but admire the beauty of the flowers around them. She even took a deep smell from one, and it smelled like true wilderness.

"Great StarClan..." she mewed, turning back to Tawny. "These flowers are so beautiful."

"Indeed," Tawny replied. "These particular flowers are called Fire Lilies. They only bloom just a few moons a year, but they're one of my favorite things about living here in FireClan. And like all other plants and living things, they're filled with water."

Silverheart was impressed. "Wow. I met a WaterBender who lived in a swamp, and he could control the vines by Bending the water inside."

Tawny had a small smile as she rasped, "You know...you can take it even _further_." Noticing a flock of ten crows circling up ahead, she asked, "Fancy a little something to snack on first?"

"Yes please!" Silverheart mewed happily, not wanting to miss this.

So Tawny lifted her tail and walked slowly around in a large circle, Bending the water right out of the flowers surrounding her. Because of this, it caused them to become dry, black, and wilted. Tawny completed the circle and sliced her claws up towards one of the crows. The water hit the crow directly, making the black-feathered bird fall with a cry. As it fell to the ground, the old loner leapt up into the air and caught it, killing it with a neck snap.

Silverheart gaped on in awe at this. _What a catch! And that WaterBending move...it's...it's so amazing!_

Out loud, she mewed, "That move was incredible. Shame about the lilies, though," she added, gazing on sadly at the lilies.

"They're just flowers. When you're a WaterBender in a strange land, you do what you have to in order to survive," Tawny explained, laying the crow down at Silverheart's paws. As the white tabby thanked StarClan and began to tuck in, Tawny went on, "Tonight, I shall teach you the ultimate WaterBending move. But this move can only be done during the full moon when your Bending is at its fullest."

"Isn't that dangerous? I thought cats are disappearing during the full moon," Silverheart meowed as she was halfway finished with eating her fresh-kill.

"Oh Silverheart," Tawny purred with a sigh. "We will be two master WaterBenders beneath a full moon? I don't think any predators will attack us by then. We'll have nothing to worry about. I assure you."

Silverheart nodded faintly as Tawny started walking away towards the forest. With one last look over her shoulder (knowing her friends would still be back at the inn), she followed the former warrior. This technique Tawny would show her would probably be so exciting.

**...**

Night had fallen over the land once again as the young warriors found who they were looking for. A small brown hairless tom was at work on one of the small houses, steadying a hammer as he pinned a nail against a board.

Goldwing took the chance to pad forth and meowed, "Old Mole?"

Old Mole glanced back behind him just as he swung his hammer down on his paw, causing him an amount of pain and to drop his hammer.

"Eeh yeowr!" he hissed. "Aw, gosh dammit! What is it? Can't you see I'm busy? Got a full moon rising. And why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old."

He crouched down to lift up a board, but he looked like he was too weak. "Aww...well, I'm still young at heart."

Goldwing was reminded a bit of Rockstar, his old friend and leader of MudClan. Recalling this, he bent his head down and helped him lift the board up to the window with his shoulder. As he did, he heard Old Mole talking fervently as if he was going mad.

"Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster," Old Mole muttered as the warrior started to help out. "Yet, at least."

Ashfeather, who took the hammer and nail and nailed the board down, meowed, "Actually, we wanted to ask you about that."

"Did you manage to look at the spirit that took you?" Goldwing asked.

Old Mole shook his head. "No. Didn't see no spirit. Just felt something coming over me, like I was possessed by a demon. Forced me to walk toward the mountain," he went on, flicking his naked tail towards the mountains. Walking on his hind legs like a zombie, he continued, "I tried to fight it, but I couldn't control my paws. It just about had me into a cave up there. And I looked up at the moon, for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light before whatever took me would kill me. But then...the sun started to rise! And I finally got control of myself again! I just scrammed from that mountain as fast as I could!"

"Why the hell would a spirit want to take cats to a mountain of all places?" Ashfeather asked, his pale blue eyes looking more puzzled.

All of a sudden, a yelp from Nightfoot made both toms turned to see her. She was scrabbling about on the ground, sniffing the air at the process.

"Guys! I DID hear cats screeching under the mountain!" she cried, eyes widened. "The missing villagers must still be there!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The three cats raced through the dark woods, the grass cool under their paws. They were getting even closer to solving this mystery and stopping whatever was taking the villagers. Just before they could reach the mountain, Nightfoot stopped and groped around on the ground.

"I can hear them," she informed Goldwing and Ashfeather. "They're this way."

So they all continued to run towards the mountain, not stopping for anything. The prey was very tempting, but they could not stop to hunt. And they didn't worry about the thorns scratching their skin, even when small stripes of blood welled up.

**...**

The full moon was shining brightly in the sky, glowing like a mystical orb. Silverheart and Tawny had arrived in a clearing in the middle of the dark woods. Tawny's tail was twitching impatiently as she paced, and Silverheart did not know why.

Finally, the old dark tortoiseshell stopped pacing and breathed deeply as she purred, "Silverheart, can you feel the power the full moon brings? For generations, it not only has given some light to the former Clans, but it has blessed WaterBenders with its glow, letting us do amazing things. I have never felt so alive!"

Her claws were extending to their fullest as the veins on her forelegs began to pop out. Tawny was now staring at the moon while Silverheart waited impatiently. But when she looked back down at the younger warrior, Silverheart let out a yelp of fright. Tawny's eyes were no longer dark orange; they were instead a dark red, the color of blood.

Silverheart felt like fleeing from the spot when she saw Tawny like this, but she stayed rooted to the spot. Or rather...she couldn't move her paws at all. It felt like she was being forced to stay here and watch Tawny unleash her power. But...that made her want to stay and see some more Southern WaterBending.

**...**

Finally, the three warrior cats had made it to the mountain, where they wasted no time in climbing. Ashfeather had small problems with climbing, but Goldwing could leap over the rocks with pure ease. But as for Nightfoot, she had just charged through the rocks as if the rocks were nothing but flies.

As they stood before the mouth of the cave, Nightfoot mewed, "Well...this is the place."

"But I can't see anything down there," Ashfeather retorted. "Even by cat standards, it's too dark to see anything!"

"That's why you have me," Nightfoot told him, letting him grab onto her tail. "Now come on! Let's go already!"

So they all jumped into the darkness of the cave. Like Ashfeather said and knew earlier, the cave was too dark to see anything, for he felt a few rocks trip his paws. Goldwing was at the rear, but they couldn't see if he was really keeping up. But Nightfoot...she seemed to handle this well in spite of being blind.

At last, there was light. The three cats could see a wall and metal doorway that were lit by two torches, so they ran for it. Nightfoot stopped at the door, stomped a hind paw down behind her for support, and slashed at the door with her claws, knocking it off its hinges. They made their way further into the cave, Ashfeather and Goldwing lighting the way with the torches.

They were all in a new chamber. They stopped, and Ashfeather and Goldwing stared with shock as the torch light revealed something disturbing. Dozens of cats were chained to the bars of cages inside the cave. A few skeletons and some rotting carcasses told them that a few did not make it.

"Praise StarClan! We're saved," a gray tom rasped, sounding like he hadn't used his voice in moons.

Feeling sorry for these cats, the three warriors leapt into the chamber. Nightfoot took her space-earth collar off and began unlocking one cat's shackles. When this was done, she worked on getting the cage to open.

"I didn't know StarClan made prisons like this," Goldwing mewed. "In fact, I didn't know they even MADE prisons. So who brought you here?" he asked the prisoners.

"It was not from StarClan, and it was no spirit," a brown tabby she-cat explained.

A black-&-white tom spoke up, "It was a witch!"

"A witch?" Ashfeather asked with confusion. He knew cats have had a bad reputation on being with witches; perhaps this was coming true." What do you mean by that?"

The gray tom replied, "She seems like a normal old she-cat, a dark tortoiseshell, but she controls cats like she's some kind of dark puppet master."

Ashfeather hissed, realizing now what this meant. "It's Tawny! She's the witch!"

"Yes, the innkeeper," the gray tom sighed.

"I KNEW there was something creepy about her!" Ashfeather spat, unable to believe he could be that blind to the truth.

Goldwing's dark gray eyes widened with horror as he rasped, "Oh shit, we forgot! Silverheart's with her, and she could be in danger! We have to stop Tawny!"

"I'll get all these cats outta here," Nightfoot added. "You guys go."

The two toms nodded quickly while Ashfeather gave one of the freed prisoners his torch before running with Goldwing. Once they made it out of the cave, they started sprinting over towards the woods, determined to stop Tawny for good. If they didn't...Silverheart could get killed. Some disturbing images of the white tabby she-cat gasping in a pool of her own blood kept popping up in their heads, but they ignored it.

_Don't worry, sister! We're on our way!_

**...**

A great horned owl was sitting on a tree branch above the cats, directly in front of the moon. It was hooting and twisting its head around a bit before it took off into the night. Back below the tree, Silverheart was watching Tawny stalk towards her, her dark red eyes glowing with some kind of madness. However, before she could flee, Tawny began talking.

"The move I will show you had been discovered by me in that wretched FireClan prison," she began. "The guards were always careful to keep any water away from us. They pumped in dry air and had us suspended off the ground. Before giving us any water, IF they gave us any at all, they would bind our paws and tails so we couldn't Bend. Any sign of trouble was met with cruel reprisal or even death. And yet, each moon, I felt the full moon stirring me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to escape. Then I realized that there is water where life was at. The rats scampering across the floor of my cage were nothing more than skins filled with liquid."

Silverheart gasped at what she had just heard. _Is she saying what I think she...no!_

But Tawny went on, "And I started developing the skills that would lead to my escape. I had called it..._BloodBending_."

"_BloodBending?" _Silverheart rasped, starting to feel a bit sick. Was all that training she had with Tawny...just a way for her to teach her this cruel sick move?

"Yes," Tawny sneered. "Controlling the water in another one's body. Enforcing your own will over theirs. Once I mastered the rats, I was ready for the cats. And during the next full moon, I could walk for the first time in moons. My cell had been unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. Silverheart, once you perfect this technique, you can have complete control over anything..._or anyone_."

Silverheart could not believe this. Tawny was teaching her this dark trick as if it was nothing? And all this training was to prepare her for using this...BloodBending? But before she could protest, she found herself thrown into another vision.

The young Tawny was staring through the bars of a cell and looking down sadly. The cells hung from chains, and there were pipes lining the walls. The warriors on walkways between the cells, one holding a cup attached to a long pole up to Tawny's mouth. Her neck, paws, and tail were chained and pulled up above her as she lapped up the water. One WaterBender tried to resist, but he met his end with a slashed throat, exposing the bone.

Tawny was staring at the moon shining through the grate in the ceiling just as a rat crawled over the chains and into her cell. Taking a dark look at the creature, Tawny lifted her paw, and the rat suddenly stiffened. And soon enough, she was now controlling five elephant rats with her paw.

Soon enough, she spotted a warrior walking down the walkway. Tawny flicked her paw at him, making him stop and begin to jerk unnaturally. He watched with fright as his own paw moved on its own and grabbed the keys on the wall while being dragged forward. Tawny began pulling the guard in with her new Bending and forced him to unlock her cell. The guard fell down to the floor while Tawny slipped out of her cell behind him.

Behind her, the warrior tried to get up, but Tawny reached her paw down and dug her claws into his chest. With a snarl, she crushed the chest open and pulled out his still-beating heart, blood splattering her muzzle and her eyes glowing red. She took a big bite out of it, leaving the tom to die at her paws, before she walked away, her legs shaky and wobbly from moons of inactivity.

Silverheart was pulled out of this vision, almost feeling an urge to throw up. She forced the bile rising in her throat down before she rasped, "To reach inside someone and control them? I-I don't know if I want that kind of power."

"You do not have a choice," Tawny growled. "The power exists...and it's your duty to use the gifts StarClan has given you to win this war. Remember, Silverheart, they tried to wipe us out, they tried to destroy our entire culture...and they killed your mother!"

"I know..." Silverheart murmured, looking down at her paws. She knew she would never forgive FireClan for murdering her mother...but was this the right choice for revenge?

Tawny went on, "Then you should know what I'm talking about. We are the last WaterBenders of the Southern WaterClan. We have to fight FireClan whenever we can. Wherever they are, with any means necessary!"

Upon hearing this, Silverheart recalled what the villagers meant by cats disappearing during the full moon. She had recalled Tawny teaching her how her powers would get more powerful during this time. And she even recalled her power growing during each full moon while she was a kit and an apprentice. Now she realized...

"It's you! You're the cat making others disappear during the full moons!"

"I do not deny it," Tawny spat, spite on her old face. "They threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters. They even treated us like dogs...no, even WORSE than dogs! So they all deserve the same. You must carry on my work."

Silverheart retorted, "No! I won't! I won't use your damned BloodBending, and I won't allow you to keep terrorizing this town. Not all FireClan cats are bad!"

But Tawny roared, "No, no, no! There are no good FireClan cats! They're all the same! Animals like us are good, but FireClan? They are..._evil_ animals!"

"I'll fight you with all my might and all my strength!" Silverheart snapped, pointing a paw at Tawny. She was even worse than Flash!

**(Author's Note: These few parts here were from Felidae, which I don't own.)**

But as she did so, her foreleg twisted painfully to one side, then the other side, and over her head. Silverheart tried to stop it, but it was no use.

"Oh, Silverheart. You should have learned the move before you turned against your Clanmate," Tawny laughed darkly, making Silverheart stand up stiff. "It's impossible to fight away from my grip. I can control every muscle and every vein in your body."

Then she used BloodBending to twist the young warrior's body around and throw her from side to side. Silverheart felt great pain in her sides as she kept on being thrown to the ground in every second. Tawny then forced Silverheart's body to twitch and jerk erratically before bringing her forepaws down, smiling sadistically.

Silverheart crouched low to the ground, tears starting to form in her eyes. She could not go in like this, not in the paws of a Clan traitor.

"Stop...please...!" she sobbed, trying to stand. "I'm begging you...!"

But Tawny just cackled sinisterly and used icicles to cut at Silverheart's pelt. Deep cutting pains entered her body as each icicle slashed at her body, making her unable to stand. This was way too impossible, facing a cat that could control her body and her mind. It was just too impossible.

But before she could give up hope, tears streaming down her face, she felt her claws unsheathe and sink into the ground. The grass underneath her claws shriveled up and died. Finally, she looked up at the moon and felt anger burn inside her, anger boiling against a cat she thought she trusted.

_No! I'm not giving up!_

As Silverheart stood back up wearily on her paws and took a deep breath, Tawny stopped her cackling and frowned. Then Silverheart yowled, "You're not the only cat who draws power from the moon. My Bending is more powerful than yours will ever be, Tawny! Your technique is useless against me!

Finally...their battle began.

Quickly, Silverheart Bended the water out of the grass and into a ring around her. She leapt forth, spun around once, and flung the water at Tawny. The old rogue took the water with her Bending and redirected the attack back at its user. But Silverheart expertly took the water back, spun back around, and flung the water again, countering the counter-attack. However, Tawny pulled the water out from two trees, creating two large torrents, and threw them at Silverheart before taking her attack and flinging it back again. The three torrents all formed one massive torrent of water and fly towards the younger fighter. Silverheart leapt back and flicked her tail forth, blocking the attack.

The water exploded into a spectacular shower of droplets. Silverheart glared defiantly at her opponent, the droplets reflecting her dark blue eyes. The droplets also reflected the shock and fear on Tawny's face.

Thanking Snowstorm for her training, Silverheart leapt forward and circled her tail inward. The water hanging in the air was now Bent into two torrents, one hitting Tawny's head and the other hitting her paws, spinning her in midair and knocking her down as she yowled. But then, she rose to her paws and leapt at Silverheart, her claws extended. Silverheart met her head-on, her claws buried into her face as she pulled back. She felt teeth fasten onto her ear, knowing her torn ear was going to be ripped off, so she pulled back. Only the tip of her ear was torn off as they leapt away and sprang again, trading some more furious blows.

"Give up?" Tawny asked, one of her dark red eyes closed and swollen.

"Never!" Silverheart spat back. But she felt the blood drip to the ground as she buckled partly towards the ground.

Tawny sneered and sprang forth, but before Silverheart could close her eyes, two shapes shot forward and tackled her in midair. In a minute, Goldwing and Ashfeather were pinning her down, receiving blows from her flailing claws. When they let her up, Tawny's swollen eye had been torn out from its socket, and her throat was bleeding.

"We know what you're doing, Tawny!" Ashfeather spat. "You're finally exposed!"

"Give it up," Goldwing added calmly. "You're outnumbered."

But to Silverheart's horror and surprise, Tawny rose to her paws and hissed, "No. It's you who are outnumbered yourselves."

Then she rose to her haunches and lifted her forepaws, making the toms' bodies stiffen. Tawny then threw them hard at Silverheart, who leapt between the two, dodging them. She gathered some more water from the grass and flung it at Tawny as she rose. Tawny removed the water from another tree and created a big spinning wheel of water in front of her body to block the attack. Silverheart was almost ready for more when Ashfeather came at her with his black sword.

"Look out, sis!" he called. "It's like my brain has a mind of its own! Stop it, paws! Stop it!"

But Tawny waved her paws to the side, controlling Ashfeather and forcing Silverheart to back off. Silverheart quickly pulled more water from the grass and knocked Ashfeather away with it, praying to StarClan to help them. But just then, Goldwing was now being controlled and forced to fight Silverheart.

"This is weird!" the tiger-striped tom yowled as he was moved forth. But Silverheart slammed the water hard into Goldwing, knocking him into another dead tree. Then she threw the water at him and froze it, pinning him to the tree.

Looking back at him, Silverheart rasped, "Goldwing, I'm so sorry!"

To her relief, Goldwing called, "That's okay!"

However, Tawny started to BloodBend Ashfeather into attacking Silverheart again. Silverheart could see her brother swinging his sword and claws around, his face full of fear. To save him, she extracted the water from a sapling and flung it at his neck. As he flew back and hit another dead tree, Silverheart froze the water and pinned him there.

"Do you want to see you hurting your own friends?" Tawny hissed at Silverheart. "Or do you want them to hurt each other?"

Again, she raised her paws and broke the two toms out of their icy prisons, lowering her stance and pulling them back. However, much to Silverheart's horror, Goldwing and Ashfeather had their claws unsheathed as they were both thrust at...each other! Silverheart could not bear to see this any further as they were getting near each other, their blood-covered claws glinting in the moonlight as they yowled in fright.

_One more attack, and they would..._

"_NO!"_

And suddenly, at Silverheart's scream, both cats stopped, Ashfeather's sword just a few mouse-lengths away from the AirBender's throat. Both stared down at their paws, whose claws were now sheathed, before turning to Tawny. Yet Tawny...was stiffening and twitching in great fear. And soon enough, Silverheart saw why.

She was sitting up on her haunches, her paws held up, as she continued BloodBending the evil old she-cat. Watching this sight, Silverheart was shocked at first, but then...as an unwanted red mist covered her vision...she slowly forced Tawny to walk over towards her. As Tawny got to her soon enough, her instincts took over..._and sliced at her throat with her claws._

Shocked at what she had done, she used the new dark arts to force Tawny to the ground as the red mist left her gaze. The old dark tortoiseshell she-cat tried to get back up, but yowls made her look weakly around, letting Silverheart see the blood gushing out from the wound. Nightfoot was springing out of the bushes, around two dozen cats following her, yowling for revenge.

But as she watched Tawny being bound by shackles, Silverheart could not find any happiness of what had just happened. She lifted her gaze to see a mottled gray tom force Tawny up to her paws.

"You're coming with us, witch!" he spat. "You're going to be locked away for a LONG time!"

Two of the prisoners nodded and began to drag Tawny away through the bushes. In the light of the moon, Silverheart looked up to see Tawny look over her shoulder at her. She had been hoping that she would be sorry for what she did, regret in her orange eyes.

But she was wrong. Instead, pure malice and vicious victory were glowing in her remaining red eye as she glared at the white tabby warrior. Blood from the earlier battle was dripping down her fangs, making her look like a living nightmare.

"My work is done," Tawny rasped, a heartless cruel smile on her face. "Well done, Silverheart. You have now become a BloodBender."

Silverheart felt her paw tremble beneath her as she began crying, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Tawny just gave her an evil laugh of victory before being shoved away by the vengeful villagers.

When the evil cat was gone, Silverheart could not contain the grief any longer...and fell to the ground, crying her eyes out. Goldwing and Ashfeather padded over to her and began licking the tears away to comfort her. Nightfoot stood nearby and gave her former mentor a sad glance before glaring back towards the bushes.

Silverheart could not believe she did what she did. She was a monster. A monster that killed for revenge. She had broken the Warrior Code...shattered it with this dark art. The thought of what her family would say if they saw this just made the tears fall faster. While she cried, she could see Goldwing glare up at the moon, a small tear or two in his stormy gray eyes.

And she heard this:

"StarClan...look down on Silverheart and forgive her. She had done no wrong tonight. It is Tawny who had done wrong, and may she rot in the Dark Forest for all eternity. Please, great StarClan...forgive her..."

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: This part always make me want to go into your series and comfort Katara. I hate to see her sad; it makes me sad too. By the way, Aang, did you say that at the end?**

**Aang: Not right away. But while she started having nightmares, I said that. I guess I was the reason why she stopped having them.**

**AvatarCat12: You know...I bet so too. So you wanna say the disclaimer? Or should I?**

**Aang: I'll say it. And I'll say the preview for Nightmares And Fantasies. (To the readers) Remember, everyone, read and review! Those who do will get either virtual plush dolls of Tawny or voodoo dolls of her to...do whatever you wanna do with them. We don't allow flames, but advice and constructive criticism are welcome anytime.**

**Preview: The day of the invasion draws nearer, and the warriors are ready for battle! Well...**_**almost**_** everyone. Goldwing is starting to have nightmares about the invasion, from goofy embarrassing ones to horrific cataclysmic ones. But what happens if he decides never to sleep again? Meanwhile, Bearclaw nervously awaits his first official meeting as the deputy of FireClan. What surprises will he hear from his father?**

**Both: See ya next time!**


	9. Nightmares And Fantasies

**AvatarCat12: Hey there, everyone. Right now, I'm working on uploading Avatar Mystery Dungeon 2, but it'll take some time.**

**Aang: Not only that, but Katara's back from missing the last chapter. So give her a big round of applause, everyone!**

**AvatarCat12: (As everyone applauds) Good to see you back, Katara.**

**Katara: (Smiles weakly) Thanks, you two. It feels good to be back.**

**Aang: (Hugs her) He's right. Good to see you back here, sweetie. But...this is when I get those freaky nightmares, right? But we'll feel better when we say the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 will never own our series or Warrior Cats. Michael DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own them both. And here's a warning for this chapter: this will contain some mild sexual stuff and suggestive themes. So we'll put a warning just as that part comes up.**

**Summary: ****The day of the invasion draws nearer, and the warriors are ready for battle! Well...**_**almost**_** everyone. Goldwing is starting to have nightmares about the invasion, from goofy embarrassing ones to horrific cataclysmic ones. But what happens if he decides never to sleep again? Meanwhile, Bearclaw hears of an official meeting as the deputy of FireClan but hasn't been invited. Will he still go anyways?**

**Uploading Date: August 11, 2012**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Nightmares And Fantasies**_

Goldwing had to suppress a small sigh as he watched the flock of sleeping sheep. Ahead of him, Ashfeather was leading the small group through a large hedge. It had been several days since they left Tawny's village behind; they hoped to never go back.

"This is it," Ashfeather was meowing, looking down at a map. "The official meeting spot for the invasion force."

The scenery around them was quite nice. There were mountains and fields of sheep dotted here and there, dozing as if nothing could disturb their sleep. Prey was quite plentiful here, and there even seemed to be the sound of a hot spring bubbling nearby. Goldwing had to admire the place Ashfeather chose; this looked like a perfect camping spot.

Behind them, Nightfoot asked, "How'd you pick this place?"

"Before we split up, our dad and I found this little island on a map," Ashfeather explained. "It's deserted, and there's a harbor surrounded by cliffs. So it seemed like the perfect secluded place."

Beside him, Silverheart purred, "Well, that was a fine choice you made, brother. And we got here just four days ahead of schedule."

Goldwing looked over at her; she was looking fresher and happier than she had for the past few days. Ever since Tawny had forced her to learn BloodBending, the white tabby she-cat had a lot of trouble being happy and falling asleep. Truthfully, she even had nightmares about Tawny's demonic ghost dragging her into the Dark Forest. Goldwing had comforted her, but it had also been a StarClan cat that saved her in a shared dream.

But there was something else that made him worry all over again.

"Four days!" he yelped, leaping into the clearing. "The invasion's in four days!"

Ashfeather stretched and yawned, replying casually, "Hell yeah. But that's like...four days from now." He laid down in his nest of moss and feathers, mewing, "Let's just calm down and..."

He was cut off by his own snoring, sprawled out clumsily all over his nest. Silverheart gave her brother an amused look before turning back to Goldwing.

"Ashfeather's right, Goldwing. We're here, and we're ready." She curled up into a ball in her nest and murmured, "The best thing to do now is get plenty of sleep."

"Um..." Goldwing looked around frantically, expecting someone to be as worried as him about the invasion. But everyone seemed to be asleep, so Goldwing curled up into a ball in the long grass, murmuring, "Yeah...I guess so..."

But he didn't say anymore, for sleep had caught up to him at last.

**...**

**(Author's Note: The italics mean it's a dream.)**

_The cat found himself in front of a large, ornate, and intimidating FireClan door, but this did not scare him one bit. Rearing back, he threw out powerful gusts of wind, knocking the door wide open, before he leapt inside. And once he was inside, he looked down at a puddle to see his reflection._

_Goldwing's fur was now pure white with black spots flecked here and there. The usually white arrow stripes were now sky blue, and now he looked like a snow leopard. He entered the room with a series of swift claw swipes, making an intense leap onto to a rock tower. The Avatar Cat was proudly standing on the rock tower surrounded by floating broken pillars._

"_Your days of cruelty are done, Darkstar!" Goldwing roared, making a series of comically fast and dramatic claw swipes. "I'm taking you down!"_

_He looked up at a monstrously large elaborately dressed tabby cat with Kabuki-like facial marks. He was about to take a bite of a whole moose, but he stopped and looked down at whoever was disturbing his meal. And besides that, he was also surrounded by pillars of flame._

"_Oh really?" Darkstar sneered, leering down at Goldwing. "How are you going to do that? You don't even have fur!"_

_Goldwing looked down to find out if it was true, and when he looked down, he yelped with great horror. Somehow, his snow leopard fur had fallen off, leaving him looking like a large pink rat. Quickly, he hid himself behind a small tree that was pulled out of thin air, shaking with nothing but embarrassment._

_Suddenly, giant eyes began to appear all around him, great yellow eyes. The eyes closed as soon as they appeared and disappeared back into the walls. The giant FireClan leader was laughing in savage triumph as Goldwing backed slowly out the door. Then the giant raised his forepaws to the ceiling, while surrounded by flames, laughing heartily and cruelly._

Goldwing sat up quickly in his nest, yelping. He looked all around to make sure his fur was still on him, and he sighed in relief as he saw the now-familiar tiger fur. Beside him, Tobias lifted his head from under his wing and gazed curiously at Goldwing.

"It was just a dream, Tobias. My fur's still on." He got up and began to stretch. "Well, better keep training."

So he gave a small yawn and padded over to a big tree stump, where a huge cedar tree used to grow. Goldwing unsheathed his claws and leapt forth, scoring his claws against the tough bark and leaving claw marks. Tobias, who had flown into a nearby tree, looked down at his master training, giving him a look of displeasure before tucking his head under his wing and sleeping.

But Goldwing knew he could not stop training. If he wanted to defeat Darkstar and keep his fur on (literally), he knew he had to train hard.

**...**

Bearclaw sighed with contentment as he was being served by the servants. He was just hanging around in an elaborate FireClan palace when he had decided to pay Rose a visit. Ever since he had admitted his feelings at Black Sand Island, he had started feeling a bit better. Not only did he find any joy in keeping his Clan safe and the apprentices trained, but it also felt good to be with his mate.

Right now, he saw some servants carrying a robe, which was soon placed around and buttoned onto his dark tabby pelt. But the young FireClan deputy didn't mind; for the first time in ages, he could revel in the pampering.

"Fresh fruit, sir?" a servant asked, holding a bowl of fruit on his head. Bearclaw shook his head, and the servant padded away.

"May I wash your paws, sir?" a second servant asked. Once again, Bearclaw shook his head, thus letting the servant leave.

"Head message?" a third asked. Bearclaw looked away, showing that he didn't want to right now. So the servant left.

"Hot towel?" the second servant asked, returning with some neatly bundled and steaming towels.

Bearclaw was about to shake his head again, but he considered this option a just little longer. He knew that he would have to start accepting stuff later, and if he refused some more, they would keep persisting. So he picked up a towel, rubbed his face and paws over it to clean himself (and to leave his scent on there) and placed it back on the plate of towels. The servant bowed swiftly and smiled, stepping back.

When he was done being prepared, Bearclaw stepped out of the palace and breathed in the scents of greenleaf. The large elaborate gate opened up as he padded towards it, his bushy tail twitching to and fro. And as he made it to the front of the gate, he was greeted instantly by a large horde of admirers and giggling she-cats. Bearclaw smiled warmly at them, eager to see new faces...until he noticed a large fat she-cat who was too excited by his entrance and had to be restrained by the guards.

Ignoring this, Bearclaw waved his tail to the crowd some more before turning around. Some servants had approached him, carrying a beautiful and elaborate palanquin.

"Is something wrong, sir?" a servant asked. "You didn't take the palanquin."

"I'm just going over to visit Rose," Bearclaw meowed, eager to see his mate. "It's not that far. Besides, I don't need it."

The servant repeated, "Don't need it? But the deputy should not have to walk everywhere, sir."

Bearclaw opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped, looking across the courtyard and then back at the palanquin. By the looks of it, it could be weary for his paws since he had been hunting since sunrise. And besides, he could get used to the luxury until he got to be the leader of his Clan. The thoughts of his kithood dreams still burned brightly in his mind.

So he smirked and padded towards the palanquin. As he got on, the palanquin was now being carried a comically short distance to Rose's large residence. Bearclaw sat patiently inside, a thrill of excitement in his veins as he pulled back the curtain to smile at Rose. The dark tortoiseshell she-cat was smiling and waving her tail from a large ornate doorway.

This made Bearclaw smile even more, happy to see Rose looking stunning in the sunshine. He leapt down from the palanquin and raced over to his mate, rubbing his face to hers.

**...**

Goldwing panted hard as he kept clawing at the tree, extremely intense and concentrated on this task. He did not eat anything, drink anything, or even take breaks during his training. Saliva dripped from his fangs as he panted, but he did not care. Behind him, the others were slowly waking up from the sound of the claws scraping against bark. Goldwing felt a bit bad about waking his friends up like that, but he couldn't stop training.

"Hey Goldwing. How long have you been up?"

It was Silverheart. Goldwing faced the white tabby she-cat, who had a look of concern on her face.

"Couple hours," Goldwing panted as he circled the tree, doing fancy footwork and varying the claw swipes. "I got a lot more skills to polish if I'm fighting Darkstar."

Silverheart did not drop her look of concern. "You know...there IS such a thing as over-training, right?"

Goldwing just gave the tree a final extremely hard swipe, which reverberated through his body in a comedic fashion. He falls backward, stuck in his punching position as a small spasm of pain took control of his body. After a pause, all the leaves fell from the tree at once. This just made Silverheart look on in disbelief, the heads of Ashfeather and Nightfoot popping out from behind her.

Then Goldwing leapt to his paws, the leaves circling around him, as he circled Silverheart; she looked half disturbed and half amused. He made some more swipes as he meowed, "You don't get it, do you, Silverheart? My form is bad, and I'm very sloppy. And I STILL don't know any FireBending, not even the basics!"

As he brought his paw near Silverheart's face (but not wanting to hit her), she pawed his paw away from her face with a worried smile. This was still not enough to make him stop worrying.

"It's okay, Goldwing," Ashfeather spoke up, looking up from a map he was studying. "That eclipse will block all FireBending anyway, so you don't need to know any. Plus, fire's a stupid element. I know a lot of certain assholes who do it anyways."

"Okay." Goldwing began a series of comic and sloppy attempts at claw swipes. "But I still have to work on everything else. Guess I better spend today in training."

He bowed quickly towards his friends before creating some air paws before speeding away in the balls of air. Ashfeather looked after him with concern before hiding his face behind the map. Nightfoot just looked bored, totally unaffected by everything that had gone on that morning. Yet Silverheart looked after him, still looking concerned for him.

Goldwing had trained all day before finally slinking back to camp in a zombie-like fashion. He had used all of the training he learned so far, using all the moves Silverheart and Nightfoot had taught him. Stretching, he gave a long yawn and fell back to the ground.

As he settled down, he mewed, "Good-night, Silverheart. Good-night, Ashfeather. Good-night, Nightfoot. Good-night, Archie. Good-night, Tobias. Good-night, Archie and Tobias..."

"JUST GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP!" Nightfoot roared irritably.

Goldwing cringed a little bit and curled up into a ball. His eyes slowly closed, and he let himself be shrouded in darkness.

**...**

_The cat found himself in front of a large, ornate, and intimidating FireClan door, but this did not scare him one bit. Rearing back, he threw out powerful gusts of wind, knocking the door wide open, before he leapt inside. And once he was inside, he looked down at a puddle to see his reflection._

_Goldwing's fur was now strangely green with orange stripes, and the arrow stripes were now purple instead of white. He entered the room with a series of swift claw swipes, making an intense leap onto to a rock tower. The Avatar Cat was proudly standing on the rock tower surrounded by floating broken pillars, surrounded by fog as he faced the giant FireClan cat._

**(Author's Note: I got that design from Cringer, a tiger-like cat from He-Man. And by the way, I don't own He-Man either!)**

"_Your days of cruelty are done, Darkstar!" he roared. "I'm taking you down! And _this_ time, I taped my fur down!" he added, mentioned the tape now stuck to his fur._

"_I see," the giant FireClan leader sneered, standing up as a giant abacus fell from the ceiling. "But are you ready for your math test?"_

"_Math test! Oh no!" Goldwing yelped, forgetting his bravery. "I forgot all about the math test!"_

_But it was too late. He was now falling through the air, yowling with pain as he was crushed between the giant abacus beads._

Goldwing woke up quickly, panting as his gaze became blurry. Getting up to his paws, he yelped, "I gotta get ready!"

So he leapt away from camp and arrived at where the sheep were sleeping at. When he got near, the tiger-striped tom began circling some sleeping sheep like a dog, practicing various defensive moves.

"Goldwing, it's moonhigh." He could hear Silverheart's voice behind him. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"But I forgot my fur and my math test!" Goldwing panted, still concentrated on the sheep. "I can't stop training!"

Silverheart sighed and then breathed in deeply, then she moved forward and pulled him gently away from the sheep. Her dark blue eyes stared deep into his tired gray ones as she pleaded softly, "Just come back to camp and sleep. Please, Goldwing...for me."

Goldwing just stared blankly at her, unable to find the right response. Despite not wanting to rest until he was fully trained, he knew he did not want to let her down. So he let Silverheart herd him back toward their camp, stumbling a bit over his paws. Behind them, a sheep woke up, gave a bleat, and trotted after them.

**...**

"So tell me, Rose. if you can have anything you want right now, what would it be?"

Bearclaw and Rose were resting side-by-side on the ornate sofa in the living room. They had spent the entire day talking, play fighting, and hunting; what was better was that Frostfire was too busy to interfere with them. Both cats got tired quickly and had retired to resting on the sofa together.

To respond to Bearclaw's earlier question, his mate replied, "Hmmm...how about a big fancy fruit pie with rose petals on the top?"

The big dark tabby purred, amused that Rose would choose a topping with the same name as her. So he purred, "Since I'm the deputy of FireClan, I could make that happen. In fact, I think I'll do it right now. So your wish is my command, my beautiful Rose."

"That'll be impressive," Rose purred, giggling at what he meowed.

So, to two FireClan servants in a curtained doorway, Bearclaw asked, "Can you find a fresh fruit pie for this lovely lady with rose petals on top?"

"Excellent choice, sir," one servant meowed, nodding as they backed out of the room.

Bearclaw nodded after them. He had heard Darkstar telling him that he had to be aggressive to get what he needed and to back up his decisions with tooth and claw. He remembered all that Bearheart taught him about kindness and treating others like how he wanted to be treated. So he believed treating servants like friends...would be a good idea while one the way of becoming the next leader of FireClan.

When the servants were gone, Rose turned to lick Bearclaw gently on the cheek as they laid back down. "I guess there are some benefits that come with being royal. Though, there is all the other annoying shit too, like that all-day war meeting that's coming up."

"What?" Bearclaw yelped, totally stunned; he did not know about this. He sat up and turned toward his mate, who also looked surprised. "An all-day war meeting? What the hell are you meowing about?"

"Frostfire mentioned something like that," Rose replied. "I guessed you were going too."

Bearclaw turned away from her and looked down. He could not believe that Frostfire did not tell him, her brother and deputy, about this war meeting. Clanmates were supposed to trust their Clanmates with their lives...right?

"I guess I wasn't invited."

**...**

"_Wake up, Goldwing."_

_Goldwing groaned as a bright light shone through his eyelids, but he opened his eyes anyways. To his mild horror, Darkstar was hovering in front of him, surrounded in black aura. He appeared to be hovering about him._

_As Goldwing tried to get his eyes to work, Darkstar leaned in close, his breath smelling like fire and brimstone. "Wake up, sleepy-head. Rise and shine. By the way, you slept in. You missed the invasion," he added, leaning in closer._

_He cackled harshly and rose up into the sky to reveal that he was riding on a flying cow. The big black-&-white animal breathed fire from its nose and flew up as Darkstar laughed menacingly. And around Goldwing, the fire was starting to set the grass aflame and surround him, burning at his fur and flesh..._

Waking up and yowling, Goldwing raced over to Ashfeather, who was still sound asleep in his nest and curled up into a ball. The tiger-striped tom reached the black cat and shook him awake vigorously.

"Ashfeather, wake up!" he cried, pulling on his face in a comedic fashion. "I need to know what day it is! What day is it?"

"Huh? Who's talking!" Ashfeather sat up and leapt forth with his sword, but he hit a rock head-on before he could complete his swing. He fell back on to his nest, his body stiff and frozen in the swinging position.

"Relax, Twinkletoes. It's still two days until the invasion." Nightfoot had risen to her paws and yawned, Silverheart waking up just behind her.

Ignoring them, Goldwing hopped around the sleepy Ashfeather, tugging on his legs and long tail. "Ashfeather, you gotta get up and practice your rock climbing drills!"

"What?"

Goldwing started to explain, feeling unfocused and tired. He made overly large comedic gestures and often looked confused as he explained, "In one of my dreams, you were running from some FireClan cats and you tried to climb this cliff, but you were too slow and they got you!"

"But that's just a dream," Ashfeather pointed out, leaping to his paws. "I might be a WaterClan cat, but I'm also a great climber."

"Then climb that cliff up to the top!" Goldwing told him, flicking his ears to the top of the cliff they were standing under. "Climb it fast! Hurry!"

The two toms looked up to see that the cliff was quite large and steep. Ashfeather quickly looked up at the cliff summit, looking back at Goldwing and then pointing a paw to himself. Goldwing quickly nodded, so Ashfeather sighed and started setting off toward the cliff. Once he got to the bottom of the cliff, he started to climb his way up, using small gaps as steps.

"Stupid Avatar Cat," the black tom was muttering irately. "Stupid cliff. Stupid dream! Of course I can climb fast!"

Goldwing was pleased and relieved at Ashfeather's climbing. There was no way FireClan could catch him now! Suddenly, he turned around to the she-cats, for Nightfoot had started lapping up some water from the nearby stream.

"Nightfoot! Don't drink that!" he yelped, charging over to them.

The gray she-cat, whose muzzle was sunken into the water, spewed water all over Silverheart, who looked disgusted. When she looked up, Nightfoot asked nervously, "What for? Is the water poisoned?"

As Silverheart Bended the water off her fur, Goldwing ranted as he went a bit cross-eyed, "In a dream, we were just in the middle of the invasion when you had to stop to make dirt. We died because of your tiny little bladder!" While Nightfoot looked insulted, he went on as he ranted at Silverheart this time, "And you need to start getting your pelt to be shorter! In my dream, your fur got caught by a tree branch and..."

"Goldwing, wait."

Before he knew it, Goldwing felt a gentle paw lay softly on his cheek. He was now staring into Silverheart's lovely blue eyes as she meowed, "I know you're trying to help, and we appreciate it a lot. But you really need to calm down. You're falling apart."

Goldwing broke gently away from her and looked down into the stream. He realized he was now becoming a terrible mess, looking extremely tired with dark circles under his eyes. So he let out a little sigh and turned to face his WaterClan crush.

"You're right. I'm losing it," he groaned, pawing at his face.

Behind them, Ashfeather had just made it to the top when he fell down and landed on his nest, knocked out.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"It's like every time I think about how worried I am, I just end up even more worried," Goldwing blankly muttered, his tail twitching fretfully as he paced back and forth. "I'm just like a great big growing snowball of nerves and wrecks!"

His friend sat behind him, just absorbed in their own tasks and ignoring his ravings. Silverheart was busy grooming herself, Ashfeather was studying another battle plan, and Nightfoot was munching noisily on a cricket she found. The pets were also busy; Archie was snoozing, and Tobias was preening his brown feathers.

Finally, Ashfeather looked up to meow, "Of course you're worried, buddy. That's 'cause you've gotta fight Darkstar, the baddest cat on the entire planet! And you better win, or we're all in some serious trouble."

Goldwing gulped, feeling even more nervous than before. If Darkstar was going to be this bad, then he had every right to be nervous.

"Dammit, Ashfeather! You're not helping!" Silverheart snapped, glaring at her brother.

"What? It's the truth!" Ashfeather insisted. "That's the deal, and he knows it!"

This made Silverheart smack him upside the head before turning to Goldwing. The tiger-pelted tom was shaking all over, feeling as if his legs just turned to jelly and melted. Nothing seemed to be making him feel better after all the training and insomnia.

So Silverheart padded over to him and laid her tail on his flank, smiling. "Goldwing, I've got just the thing to help you. Get ready to be 'de-stress-ified!'"

_De-stress-ified? _Goldwing repeated quietly to himself. _That's not even a real word! _But he did not make any fuss about it as Silverheart steered him towards the nearby hot springs.

**...**

To Goldwing's mild surprise, they did not go into the warm waters of the springs. Instead, they slipped into a steam crater, where Silverheart said they would "de-stress-ify" him. So now the two cats were standing beside the steaming water inside the crater.

"These yoga stretches can really work wonders if you do them in extreme heat. Now reach up," she instructed. "Reach your paws up to the sun."

So Goldwing sat on his haunches and lifted his forepaws. He watched Silverheart do the same, her slender form framed in the sunlight. They both swayed to the side, Silverheart meowing, "Feel your chi paths clearing. And now...close your eyes."

So they bent down and touched their heads to the ground.

"How are you feeling?" Silverheart asked him.

"I feel...really warm," Goldwing mewed, his vision becoming dizzying.

The WaterClan warrior nodded the best she could. "Good, good. Heat's good. What else?"

Goldwing went on, "Like there's a warm feeling all around me. This heat...like I'm in the palace of FireClan, and Darkstar's shooting a lot of flames at me! And the whole world is being immersed in flames!"

He ended up rolling out of the yoga position and onto his back. This was not one thing that could cheer him up and help him get relaxed. Silverheart sat back up and looked over at the tired and stressed-out Avatar Cat.

"Maybe you should talk about your stress instead," she suggested.

**...**

The clear blue skies and the green fields of the cliff face were supposed to comfort Goldwing, but he could not find any comfort in them. But he decided to take Silverheart's advice to heart and talk about it, to make sure this was solved by talking. So he had decided to talk with the one cat who excelled well in talking: Ashfeather.

Now Goldwing was resting his head against a ewe lying down while she kept an eye on her twin lambs. Ashfeather was sitting beside him on a rock, donning the 'Wang Fire' beard and having his fur dyed to ginger. His tail wrapped around his paws and twitched as he looked thoughtful.

Speaking in an old psychiatric tone, he meowed, "Why don't you get upbeat and tell me what bothers you so?"

"You know what's bothering me, Ashfeather," Goldwing groaned. "I have to fight Darkstar in a few more days!"

"Mmm-hmm." Ashfeather flicked his tail towards his friend and went on, "Tell me more about this 'Darkstar' fellow. Why are you so scared of him?"

Goldwing held his paws up and waved them about. "You said it yourself! He's the baddest cat on the entire planet! I have to defeat him and save the world! StarClan said so!"

Ashfeather nodded intensely, his pale blue eyes closed as he looked like he was thinking. "Life sometimes feels strange, doesn't it?" he asked, opening his eyes. "Like we're all trying to save the world from evil as StarClan says."

"Okay, but how the hell can I feel better?" Goldwing snapped, feeling frustrated.

"Wanna try screaming into this sheep?" his friend asked.

So Goldwing nodded, turned to the ewe beside him, and yowled into her wool, his striped pelt bristling. The ewe did not look bothered by this; instead, she just bleated comically. Ashfeather gave his ear a quick scratch and then gave Goldwing the thumbs-up sign with one of his claws.

_Nope. Not working,_ Goldwing thought as he shook his head. It was time to ask someone else for help with his stress.

**...**

Bearclaw sighed deeply as he gently pushed the doors open to the royal spa. Frostfire was on a high table, purring as an ornate gold comb brushed though her sleek yet short black fur. It was time to ask her if she knew anything about the meeting; if not, then Darkstar didn't trust his own kits yet.

Yet the small smile on her young face told him that perhaps she knew a little something about it. Not wanting to keep the tension about, Bearclaw swallowed his anger and replaced it with mild confusion.

"Greetings, Teddy." It appeared Frostfire had scented him coming in. "I suppose you'll want a royal fur grooming? Well, I'm afraid you'll have to wait till your turn."

"No." The lie stood a bit at the tip of Bearclaw's tongue; it was time his shaggy pelt got groomed down. He went on, "So I there's a big war meeting coming up, huh? And by the looks of it, I'm not welcome there."

Frostfire opened her yellow eyes. "What do you mean, brother? Of course you're welcome there. You're a FireClan cat."

Bearclaw lowered his head. "Oh...I guess that's why no one bothered to tell me about it."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," his sister meowed as her fur was still being brushed. "I'm sure our father wants you to be there. You probably weren't invited because it's so obvious that you're supposed to be there.

"Were YOU invited?" Bearclaw demanded.

Frostfire gazed into his eyes, a smug look on his face. "Of course I was. I'm one of FireClan's most senior warriors after all."

He was annoyed at her smug attitude. So he retorted, ""Yeah, and I'm the FireClan deputy!"

"Exactly," the black she-cat went on. "So stop acting like a distrustful kit. Just go to the meeting, okay?"

"Forget it. I'm not going," Bearclaw growled, stalking out of the room.

He could not believe Frostfire knew about the meeting and didn't bother telling him. He knew a Clan cat should confide a secret in the Clanmates, especially towards their kin. But Bearclaw guessed she was doing this just to mess around with him like she did when they were kits.

**...**

It took some time to convince her, but soon, Nightfoot had agreed to help Goldwing out with his stress. But the only condition was that they would do it her way. So Goldwing ended up laying on a bed of pillar shaped rocks with his eyes closed. Nightfoot was sitting next to him, looking like she was going to enjoy whatever she was going to give him.

"Okay, Twinkletoes. What you need is a good ol' back poundin' to relieve your stress," the gray she-cat told him. "Tell me when you're ready."

"Pound away," Goldwing groaned. He just wanted to keep his stress at bay no matter what.

So Nightfoot began to stomp her paws to the ground, causing the pillars to pummel on his back. However, instead of being relaxing, it was very uncomfortable and painful for Goldwing, who yelped. "Ahh! Ow! Uh! Nightfoot! I! Think! This! Is! Hurting! Me!"

"Whoops. Forgot about your soft kitten fur," Nightfoot joked, stopping the pillars of rock. As Goldwing slipped off them, Nightfoot mewed, "Hmmm...there's this one other thing we can try..."

She stopped as a baby porcupine flew into her paw magically from a nearby bush. It uncurled itself and showed its needles at Nightfoot smiled widely. "Acupuncture!"

Goldwing took one look at the baby porcupine, yelped, and fled with his tail between his legs. No way would he ever use a porcupine to solve his problems!

**...**

"Bearclaw, it's just a stupid meeting. Who cares?"

Bearclaw heard his mate talking to him as he looked out the window and towards Silverpelt. He still could not believe his sister did not talk with him about the war meeting. And...why hadn't Darkstar told him, his deputy about the meeting?

To answer Rose's question, he hissed without turning around, "I don't."

Rose joined him at the window and looked out towards the palace. "Good. You shouldn't. Why the hell would you even want to go to the meeting?" The dark tortoiseshell rubbed her short pelt against his shaggy fur as she went on, "Just think about how things went to the last war meeting you went to."

Bearclaw winced at this, remembering that fateful day when he was exiled from his Clan. He recalled denouncing one of the generals' ideas of sacrificing his Clanmates to put down some rebellions. Darkstar had been very furious with him, so he challenged him to an Agni Kai, where two cats fight to the death for honor. And in the process, he had been screeching at him with hatred and contempt.

"_Suffering is your mentor, and you _will_ learn respect!" _Those words were what Darkstar had roared at him before he slashed at his face with his claws. Now the memories of that fateful day were too much for Bearclaw to handle.

"I know," he rasped quietly to Rose.

"You know what'll make you feel better?" his mate asked, circling around him. "How about ordering some servants around? I might be hungry for a whole _platter_ of fruit pies! And maybe a little palanquin ride around town. Double time!

But Bearclaw was not in the mood, even though he wanted to spend this night with her. Giving a small sigh, he leapt down from the window and padded out of the room, feeling Rose's amber eyes watching him with worry. He wanted to apologize to her for making her worry like this, but he had enough troubles in his paws now.

_I'm sorry, Rose. I'd tell you if I could._

**...**

The other cats, Tobias, and Archie were looking down at Goldwing as if he was dying. The young AirClan warrior felt sick, having thrown up a few times before finally settling down on the ground. In the end, there was nothing left to do except let him have a good-night's rest.

"Thanks for everything," Goldwing muttered, lying on his side. "You guys are the best."

Silverheart was joining in with the others as they smiled warmly at him. "So do you feel less stressed now, Goldwing? Ready for a good night sleep?" she asked.

Goldwing didn't know how to reply to this. So he just mewed, "Uh...I think I sorta feel a little better...maybe..."

"Then our work here is done," Ashfeather yawned, stretching before curling up into his nest. "Good-night, everyone!"

The others did the same and settled down into their nests for the night. Goldwing was the only one left awake and alone, wondering if the nightmares were really going to wander away. His belly felt empty, and his mind was full, making it hard to sleep. But Goldwing laid back down and closed his eyes as he finally fell asleep.

_The nightmares that Goldwing had been having were a bit humorous yet humiliating. But this new nightmare was..._terrifying.

_Goldwing was steering Archie through a huge storm, trying to get to the invasion in time. Some giant bird's black talons swooped down at him, but he dodged them as fast as he could, looking back. Goldwing was horrified to see a giant Tobias attacking them. The oversized red-tailed hawk quickly made a grab for the Avatar Cat and Archie, grabbing them this time._

_Just then, as soon as Tobias caught them, Goldwing felt himself breaking through cement in front of the FireClan castle. He was transported to the front steps, through the door and down some hallways in a choppy dream-like horror sequence. No matter how he begged of StarClan to save him, demonic red eyes and vicious fangs peered out of the darkness. Yowls of horror and blood splattering everywhere pierced his ears and washed over his eyes._

_But then...he noticed a familiar cat: Nightfoot. But when he reached her, he skidded to a halt and yelped in terror. The wind blew her head fur away to reveal that...her eyes had been torn out from their sockets. Nightfoot fell through the floor as if a Dark Forest cat was now dragging her down to Hell, making him even more scared than before._

_Next, he saw what happened to his other friends. Ashfeather was trying to flee down a long and dark tunnel, an unknown terror chasing him. Some gooey tentacles reached for him right out of nowhere, and he struggled to free himself, but they swallowed him. Then he saw Silverheart being surrounded by a wall of dark fire, red flames reflecting in her scared blue eyes. Yelping in horror, Goldwing tried to save her, but he couldn't move, for ice had started freezing his paws. The ice then crawled up his whole body, leaving him frozen and unable to do anything as he watched Silverheart being swallowed in flames._

_A large fire in the shape of Darkstar looked over him, cackling wildly with victory as his blood-red eyes glared down at him. The fire bit into his frozen throat, causing him to melt and fall into a deep abyss and then into a pool of water._

_Goldwing swam upward to the surface, hoping to catch some air and rescue his friends. He made it only to discover that he was still trapped under ice. He pounded hard at the ice with his paws as a familiar figure stood over him motionless._

Bearclaw!

_The large dark brown tabby tom merely looked down at him, his red eyes betraying no emotion. Just then, the Shadow Meteor flew by his head behind him, charging towards Earth. Goldwing held his breath underwater as he watched the meteor speeding downward, suddenly seeing the giant Tobias above his head._

_The hawk held a finger-like feather up to his beak and whispered 'Shhh'. Finally, Goldwing was out of ice, floating and overlooking a beautiful valley. Suddenly, the comet hit the valley, turning everything from green to black and gray. The valley was now nothing but fire and lava, animals begging to be saved and FireClan demons tearing out their foes entrails._

"MMMMRRRROOOWWWRRR!"

Goldwing had just woken up, screaming his head off. Archie looked over at him, startled, while Tobias fell off his back. Quickly, the three other warrior cats rushed over, looking at him with worry in their eyes.

"Goldwing!" Silverheart yelped, rushing over to lick him comfortingly on the ears. "What in StarClan happened?"

"Nightmares..." Goldwing turned away from his friends and fell over, bowing his head to the ground. "It's the nightmares. They keep getting worse and worse..."

"Oh really? Looks like it's time for..." Ashfeather spun around and came back, now wearing his "Wang Fire" beard. "...another therapy session!"

Goldwing glared up at him, disgusted as he turned around. "Ashfeather, are you REALLY trying to be a dumbass? Nothing's helping! There's only one thing to do. I'll stay awake until the day of the invasion."

But he could feel his face twitch as he looked into Silverheart's shocked face. Ashfeather's fake beard fell off, for he was also shocked, but Nightfoot looked rather amused. Yet Goldwing stayed firm with what he said; if StarClan disagreed with him, then they would send a cloud over the moon. Yet they didn't.

_I don't care. As long as I don't sleep, things'll be fine._

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldwing was pacing nervously and tiredly near Silverheart, who was stretching on a scenic cliff above the ocean. But he was too tired to admire the way her fur shined in the early sunlight, for he still did not want to slip away into sleep. So he paced around in a zombie-like daze and nearly stumbled over a rock.

"Invasion. Enjoy the S.S. Invasion..." he slurred, trying to keep up the pace.

"Goldwing?" Silverheart had run up to him as she looked concerned. "You don't look so good. "You sure you can't lie down? Just for a little nap?"

Shaking his head, Goldwing padded away from her. "I told you already, I can't go back to sleep."

Silverheart sighed. "Goldwing, even if we're sometimes nocturnal, staying up too late isn't good for you."

"Actually...staying up all night has given me time to think. Things to think over," Goldwing replied, slowing down and padding toward the ocean, Silverheart following him. "And I've realized some big things."

"What big things?" the white tabby asked.

Goldwing tried to find the right thing to say as he gazed out to the ocean. Finally, he meowed, "I see everything so clearly now...what really matters the most. Why I'm really doing this. I'm doing it to save the world, and I'm also doing it for StarClan. But what's more is...I'm doing it for those I love." He stepped up to Silverheart until their noses were almost touching. "Most of all...I'm doing it for you, Silverheart."

Silverheart looked mildly surprised. "Goldwing, what're you saying?"

"I'm saying...that I..." Goldwing rasped, the words tripping over his tongue. Finally, he revealed his secret: "Silverheart...I-I love you."

Thus, he pushed his muzzle forth and began nuzzling her, her sweet scent washing over his face like water. Silverheart looked amazed, but then she smiled and nuzzled him back affectionately, looking so beautiful at the moment, so precious to him. The two cats stood beside the ocean, purring as they relished in each other's scents, unwilling to let go. And after a few minutes, they broke apart and looked into each other's eyes.

"Wow..." Silverheart panted, her shining blue eyes staring into his stormy dark gray eyes. "Goldwing...what are we doing...?"

"We're doing what our hearts have told us to do for a long time." Goldwing lifted his tail, feeling aroused as he purred, "You're my forever girl, kitty."

**(Katara: I'll be doing the author's note here for this part. And this is the warning: it's the mature-rated thing we won't talk about on here. Those who don't want to read this part, just skip ahead to the next author's note.)**

The WaterClan she-cat smiled warmly at him before crouching low to the ground, holding her tail to the side. Goldwing blinked, recognizing the signs right away: Silverheart was now ready to mate.

So he padded over towards her, crouched over her body, and grabbed her scruff in his jaws. He could feel himself pushing into her and thrusting, making her moan and yowl in lust. Her lust-filled yowls made him thrust harder, finally passing on the next generation and showing his love for her. Nothing could stop this tender moment as they mated in the sun...nothing.

Except...

"Goldwing? Why're you humping that rock?"

**(Katara: Okay, that's the end of that part. Now the episode can go on normally. And Avatar Cat, you owe me for that!)**

"Huh?" Goldwing yelped, scrambling off of the rock. The rock was now covered in... a very certain something I will not mention on here...making him blush.

Silverheart meowed, ignoring the mess on the rock, "I was just saying you should probably take a nap."

The tiger-striped cat chuckled nervously and padded over to face her. That tender moment was fake after all. So he mewed, "I guess I drifted off into a daydream."

"Really?" Silverheart asked. "What was it about?"

"Uh..." Goldwing did not want to reveal his true daydream: telling her he loved her and mating with her. So he quickly meowed, "Uh...living under water!"

The white tabby she-cat looked like she did not believe him a lot. But then she smiled as she purred, "Cool!"

Goldwing waited until she padded away before sighing in relief. But it wasn't just the lying that bothered him; something else was bothering him now.

Why did he have that daydream just then? It felt so strange and yet so real...just like the three nightmares he had. Was this because of the lack of sleep? Or was it because he was slightly going insane?

**...**

Last night had made Bearclaw really tired as he groaned and stretched on the couch. Rose was sitting next to him, pouring a bowl of cream for the both of them. After Bearclaw was done with thinking over what he was going to say, he and Rose had spent the night together, relishing in each other purring.

But Bearclaw could not get the sting of rejection out of his mind. He wished Darkstar told him about the meeting before telling his senior warriors. As he thought of this, a servant entered, bowing his head.

"Bearclaw, everyone's waiting for you."

"What?" Bearclaw yelped, leaping off the couch as he approached the servant, Rose behind him. "What do you mean?"

"The high admirals, high generals, the war ministers, the senior warriors, and the princess have all arrived. You're the only cat who's missing," the messenger meowed, raising his head.

Bearclaw yelped as Rose gave him a happy look. "Really? My father really wants me at the war meeting?"

The messenger nodded. "Yes. Darkstar said he would not start the meeting without you. You are his deputy and his most trusted advisor," he added, bowing his head again.

Bearclaw felt a smile come across his face and shared an excited look with his mate. Darkstar really DID want him to be at the meeting after all! It seemed his father finally trusted him to be in a meeting after what happened last time. He knew that as long as he spoke up when spoken to, then the same mistake he made would never happen again.

**...**

Panting, Goldwing leapt out of the bushes, did a summersault, and hid against a rock. He popped his head out from behind the rock to look over at his target. It was the same macaroni picture of Darkstar he made while he was attending a FireClan school. Not only that, but there was also a red target around the picture.

"Put 'em up, Darkstar!" he yowled, sending a blast of air at it. But it missed and hit Ashfeather in the back of the head instead.

The black tom turned to glare at Goldwing and growled, "Shit, Goldwing! Watch where you're throwing the air! I'm trying to build some battle armor for Archie so he won't be a naked dragon in the invasion. He's YOUR dragon after all!"

"Sorry!" Goldwing called before padding in front of him at some imaginary enemy. "Darkstar's defense is spotless. I'll try a different approach."

So he leapt up into the air with a yell and began to shoot balls of air down at the macaroni picture of Darkstar. As all four missed, he stalked towards the picture target, spitting, "You think you're so unbeatable, huh, Darkstar?"

"Boy, you're startin' to lose it kid."

This new voice was unfamiliar and non-catlike. Goldwing turned to see who was there, but Tobias was the only one with him, sitting on a rock.

"Did you hear something, Tobi?" he muttered, turning his back again.

"No. But I SAID something."

Goldwing turned back around to Tobias, very confused. He had no idea what to say as Tobias stared back at him with sharp green eyes.

Then, to his surprise, Tobias said, "You, my friend, are just a few bones short of a rabbit."

This made Goldwing stare at his pet hawk in disbelief. He backed away and shook his head vigorously; was it him, or did his hawk suddenly speak cat? So he pawed at his eyes and then opened them as if he had been sleeping...which he hadn't done for all day. To his relief, Tobias was just cawing in his usual hawk language.

"That's more like it," Goldwing sighed, patting his hawk on the head. "I'm just so tired, for a second there, I thought you were talking to me." When Tobias cocked his head to one side as if he was confused, he meowed, "Well, let me explain."

So he began to attempt to speak Tobias' hawk language, cawing like a hawk would to. Just behind them, Nightfoot, Silverheart, and Ashfeather were standing there, looking very confused and worried. Tobias and Goldwing carried on with their own private conversation, and then Goldwing purred a few times.

"Goldwing?" Silverheart's voice made Goldwing and Tobias look up in surprise. When they did, the white tabby she-cat mewed, "Goldwing, we're all starting to get worried about you."

"You've been awake for way too long!" Ashfeather spoke up next.

"And you're acting flat-out freakin' weird," Nightfoot added.

And to Goldwing's surprise, Archie was standing on two legs and pointing a claw up as if to give a lecture. Then the Asian Lung dragon said in a deep voice, "You've got to take better care of yourself, Goldwing. You can't carry on like this!"

"Uh..." Goldwing bowed his head, frustrated, and then lifted up his tail. Finally, he meowed, "Look, I appreciate what you guys are saying. But the stress and the nightmares...they were too much for me. Staying awake is the best way to deal with it."

But suddenly, Tobias stood up perfectly and pointed a feather at Archie, sneering, "Yeah, you heard the kid! Leave 'im alone, you big ol' pussy!"

"Hey, who asked you, chicken?" Archie growled.

Sensing there was a fight going on, Goldwing tried to play the peacemaker role, meowing, "Hey guys, come on. Break it up!"

But Archie snarled, "No! I am sick and tired of this guy always back-sassing me and telling me what to do!"

"Oh, you don't like it?" Tobias snapped. "Well, let's bring it! You and me! Right now!"

This was too much. His own pets were fighting amongst each other...and he could hear what they were saying! So Goldwing loped over to Ashfeather and pleaded, "Ashfeather, what do we do?"

Ashfeather just asked, "About what?"

"THAT!" Goldwing yelled, but when he turned around, he saw something that made his jaw drop.

Tobias was now draped up in a samurai garb, ruffling his feathers. Archie was draped in a heavy set of samurai armor, looking intense and holding two swords. The white-furred dragon drew his sword while Tobias, also looking intense, also drew his swords. Finally, Archie rushed with both swords out at Tobias, who screeched and also rushed out with his swords out towards Archie. They met in the middle, there swords pressed together in a battle of strength.

Cheers of "Archie! Archie! Archie!" and "Tobi! Tobi! Tobi!" filled Goldwing's ears. The flock of sheep had arrived and was also standing on their hind legs, cheering.

As the two broke off, Tobias broke off from the attack and peered behind Archie, the dragon doing the same. Both were ready for the next attack, swords drawn. But as they leapt, Archie drew up his swords and suddenly turned into a giant tornado, spinning towards Tobias. Yet the hawk was able to defend his attacks, but Goldwing felt really confused and worried about this.

"Come on, guys!" he called as he stood outside the ring to try and get their attention. "We're all on the same side! Don't you remember?"

Above them, floating down, a familiar mandrill descended from the clouds; it was Rafiki, a wild old mandrill who taught him about the Avatar Cat State. He now had eight arms like a spider and a golden light above his head. He was playing a sitar-like instrument and singing merrily while Archie and Tobias continued their sword fight. Goldwing stood before it all in disbelief as he heard the song.

"_Chakras, chakras!_

_Everybody loves chakras!_

_Chakras, chakras...chakra sandwich tastes good!_

_Yum!"_

Goldwing turned away from this to see Archie and Tobias in some very intense fighting. The flock of sheep was now chanting "Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!", jumping up and down. All of a sudden, some snake-like vines began moving on their own and moved from the forest to the field. Completely stumped now, Goldwing made small chirps as some of them circled around him and then drifted away.

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" the sheep continued chanting.

The tree with the noodle Darkstar on the trunk and a red target apron had suddenly sprouted a few Twoleg-like limbs. Then it stood up and began to dance around and throw some punches. Archie and Tobias were still fighting, the many-armed Rafiki continued singing, and the vine snakes had risen up into slithering pillars. Goldwing was totally surrounded by a ring of rocks and a ring of cheering sheep, unable to do anything.

"I gotta find a cold waterfall!" he yelped, racing away towards the stream into the forest.

**(Tourette's Guy: WHAT THE FUCK?!)**

**(AvatarCat12: {Trying not to laugh} Okay, who let him in? Security!)**

**...**

The meeting took a few hours, but Bearclaw had finally finished with the war meeting. A few cats were chatting outside beside him, Frostfire among them. But Bearclaw could not believe what he had heard about Darkstar's ultimate plan. However, he thought of something else.

Now he felt like an apprentice again like he had moons ago. He felt out of place before in a war meeting, and he now felt out of place again after moons of exile. Yet Darkstar had stared at him with not hatred...but with some unknown emotion.

A meow told him that Rose was waiting for him, leaning on a pillar. When Bearclaw padded by her, she began running up to him, her amber eyes shining.

"Bearclaw!" she greeted him, licking his scar. "How'd the meeting go?"

The dark tabby looked to the side. "As soon as I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me. My father had even saved me a seat. He wanted me to sit next to him. I was literally by his side...as the deputy of FireClan."

Rose pressed her pelt against his as they began walking together down the hall. "Bearclaw, that's wonderful! You must be happy!"

Bearclaw paused at the end of the hallway, and so did Rose. He looked up a large and decorative picture of Darkstar, who was made to look incredibly powerful. As Rose continued looking concerned at him, he lowered his head and turned to her.

"During the meeting, I was the perfect warrior. The son my father wanted," Bearclaw meowed, feeling the weird feeling he hadn't felt for the past moon. "But I wasn't me...I don't know what to think anymore," he added, bowing his large head.

_I don't know what to think anymore._ The words repeated themselves in his head as his mate gently urged him away and down the hall.

**...**

_Where has the starlight gone?_

_Dark is the day_

_How can I find my way home?_

_Home is an empty dream_

_Lost to the night_

_My friend, I feel so alone_

It was night, and Goldwing was finished with training. Daydreams kept haunting him, forcing him to shake his head every time. The daydreams of mating with Silverheart and watching his pets do their weird fight were too much for him. But now he was prepared to just take a short break.

Goldwing shook his head like a dog as he looked around; he was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of mist. In the middle of the mist was a large fluffy white pad, making his large ears prick up as he padded towards it. He comically popped around all sides of the pad, feeling and inspecting its fluffiness with his muzzle. He had just finished brushing his cheek against the fluffy pad, looking at it very skeptically.

"Oh look, another daydream," he slurred. "A made-up nest made of clouds."

"Hell no, it's real! We spent hours working on it!"

Goldwing looked around quickly. There were his friends, looking at him through the mist. It was Nightfoot who spoke, yet she looked amused despite her words.

"We made it for you," Ashfeather piped up. "A good night's sleep will take the crazy stuff away from you...we hope."

Goldwing looked over at a small flock of sheep, shaved of their wool and shivering in the cool night breeze. But they were not getting it; he had to get ready, and resting was no option. So he leapt off the nest and prowled towards them as frustration took hold of his muscles.

_You promised you'd be there_

_Whenever I needed you_

_Whenever I call your name_

_You're not anywhere_

He sighed, "Look, you keep telling me to sleep, but I can't! The invasion's tomorrow!"

"Goldwing-" Silverheart tried to mew imploringly.

"No, Silverheart!" Goldwing cut her off sharply. "I still have so much to learn! I don't need any sleep! I need practice! Quick, claw at my face!" he finished, unsheathing his claws.

Silverheart shook her head. "No. I'm not going to claw you."

"You want _me_ to do it?" Nightfoot chuckled, causing Ashfeather to look over at her.

_I'm trying to hold on_

_Just waiting to hear your voice_

_One word, just a word will do_

_To end this nightmare_

"Listen, Goldwing," Silverheart mewed, padding over and resting her cheek on his lean shoulder. "You've been training for this battle ever since we first met. I've seen your progress all those moons we've travelled together. You're smart, brave, and strong enough. You're one of the best warriors I've ever had the pleasure to train with."

Suddenly, the doubt that was in Goldwing's mind slowly started to vanish. Now...it was being replaced slowly by comfort. "You...you really think so?"

"We all do," Ashfeather purred, pride in his pale blue gaze. "You can do this, Goldwing. You're ready."

"You're the guy, buddy," Nightfoot added, winking at him.

_I know that the night must end_

_And that the sun will rise_

_And that the sun will rise_

_I know that the clouds must clear_

_And that the sun will shine_

_And that the sun will shine_

Now all his feelings of anxiety were totally wiped out replaced by relief and comfort. How could he have doubted his friends when they would stand beside him in the invasion? He would still have his fur on, he had no educational pressure, and he wouldn't be late for the epic fight against FireClan. But most of all...he wasn't alone.

"Thanks guys," Goldwing purred, yawning as Silverheart helped him onto the fluffy sheep wool nest. "You know what? I think I AM ready."

Silverheart purred, lying down beside him. "StarClan won't haunt your dreams like that ever again. I promise."

Goldwing nodded and closed his eyes for the first time in ages. As he did so, he felt a warm gentle tongue lick his ears soothingly as if his mother was grooming him. The young Avatar Cat snuggled deeper into the wool, relishing in its softness and Silverheart's licking calm him down. This would be one good-night's sleep he would truly enjoy.

**...**

_The cat found himself in front of a large, ornate, and intimidating FireClan door, but this did not scare him one bit. Rearing back, he threw out powerful gusts of wind, knocking the door wide open, before he leapt inside. And once he was inside, he looked down at a puddle to see his reflection._

_Goldwing's fur was now back to his golden color, but now he had a huge bushy red mane all around his neck like a lion's. He entered the room with a series of swift claw swipes, making an intense leap onto to a rock tower. The Avatar Cat was proudly standing on the rock tower surrounded by floating broken pillars, surrounded by fog as he faced the giant FireClan cat, who looked rather like Tigerstar this time._

"_Your days of cruelty are done, Darkstar!" Goldwing roared, making a series of comically fast and dramatic claw swipes. "I'm taking you down!"_

"_Oh really?" Darkstar sneered, leering down at Goldwing. "How are you going to do that? You don't even have fur!"_

_But this time, Goldwing was ready as he smiled slyly back. "No, Darkstar. YOU don't have any fur!"_

_Darkstar looked down and screamed in surprise. His dark tabby fur had fallen off and showed only naked pale skin; Goldwing had to hold back some laughter._

"_No!" he howled, covering himself with a fluffy FireClan shield in shame. "My royal privates are showing!"_

Goldwing smiled in his sleep as he and Silverheart slept on in his nest of sheep wool, shrouded by mist. Sleep and Goldwing had found each other at last.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: We're almost there, everyone! Remember, I don't own the song "Endless Night"; it belongs to The Lion King on Broadway. And Katara, what do I owe you?**

**Katara: A new water pouch for when I WaterBend.**

**Aang: You don't have to worry about that, Avatar Cat. Katara, I could make you a new one.**

**Katara: (Kisses him) Thanks, Aang.**

**AvatarCat12: Good to hear that. But we'll go on with the review thing and the preview for Day Of Dark Sun: The Invasion. (To the readers) Read and review, folks! Those who do will get either an Archie plush doll with the samurai outfit or a Tobias plush doll with the samurai outfit. I don't allow flames, but I DO allow constructive criticism and advice.**

**Preview: The day of the invasion has finally come, and AvatarClan and their old friends and allies are ready for the ultimate battle! Will Ashfeather prove he is a true warrior by leading his Clanmates into battle? And before the battle begins, Goldwing reveals his ultimate secret to Silverheart. Meanwhile, Irontail gains a new friend in prison. Is she aware of what he's up to? And what about Bearclaw?**

**All three: See ya next time!**


	10. Invasion

**AvatarCat12: Well, this is it! The Day Of Dark Sun! You all excited?  
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**Katara: You bet we are! And for this episode, we're actually going to upload these two chapters today.**

**Aang: We've already uploaded the two-part finales for the past two Books. So we decided to do the honor and upload this too.**

**AvatarCat12: Yep. He's right. But enough talk for now. Now on with the disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: You should all know that I don't own either series. I blend them together for the enjoyment of others. And the song Look Through My Eyes doesn't belong to me, as I explained in Book 2. It belongs to Phil Collins.  
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**Summary: ****The day of the invasion has finally come, and AvatarClan and their old friends and allies are ready for the ultimate battle! Will Ashfeather prove he is a true warrior by leading his Clanmates into battle? And before the battle begins, Goldwing reveals his ultimate secret to Silverheart. Meanwhile, Irontail gains a new friend in prison. Is she aware of what he's up to? And what about Bearclaw?**

**Uploading Date: August 18, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Day Of Dark Sun: Invasion**_

Goldwing stretched long and hard, finally feeling refreshed after sleeping like a kit. The awful nightmares he had in the past few days were becoming a thing in the past, and he felt ready. And there, he realized what day it was. The day of the invasion had finally arrived. But this time, Goldwing did not feel nervous at all.

Instead, he bounded over to where his friends had gathered, Ashfeather observing a map while Nightfoot and Silverheart watched as they sat the side. Ashfeather's dark gray tabby pelt had been restored while Nightfoot had her black fur back. Silverheart also had her silver-gray fur back...but her chest and paws were silver again while dark silver stripes streaked everywhere on her body.

_Oh well. Today's the day!_

"Good morning!" Goldwing chirped, bounding over to them. "You too, Tobi!" he added, giving the hawk a pat on the head.

"Looks like someone slept well," Silverheart purred. When she saw him looking at her new tabby coat, she added, "For some reason, the stripes reached down to my silver fur. So I'm a silver tabby now."

Goldwing nodded. "That's good. Anyways, I DID sleep well. I slept like a bear with a bellyful of cubs! I'm ready to fight Darkstar!" he added, getting into a battle stance.

"So what's your strategy for taking him out?" Nightfoot asked, flicking her tail towards her face. "Gonna get your glow on and claw him with a little Avatar Cat State action?"

This made Goldwing drop the happy look and look down. He hadn't told them that he had failed to master the Avatar Cat State because of his love for Silverheart. And plus...he hadn't been able to achieve the Avatar Cat State even if he got really angry. But now that Silverheart and Ashfeather were looking over at him, he knew he would have to tell the truth.

"Actually...I can't," he finally confessed. "When Frostfire shot me with lightning back when we were in BoulderClan, my seventh chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the Universe. So unless I reconnect with the chakra, I can't use it at all."

At first, there was silence...and then Nightfoot mewed, "You know what I just heard? All I heard was 'Blah blah spiritual mumbo jumbo blah blah' and something about space. You know we're not as good at this shit as you are."

Goldwing smiled a bit at this as he rolled his eyes. It was so much like Nightfoot to talk about spiritual stuff like that.

Suddenly, he saw something misty out of the corner of his eye. Fog was rolling in from the sea and towards the harbor at the bottom of the cliff. It appeared that the weather wouldn't be as bright and sunny for the invasion after all.

"Oh no," Silverheart groaned, turning to her brother. "Do you think the fog will delay the invasion, Ashfeather?"

"No..." Ashfeather mewed, smiling. "That fog IS the invasion!"

Goldwing bounded over to the edge of the cliff and peered through the fog in the horizon. Five WaterClan ships started appearing out of the fog, following the ship of Emberstar. The dark gray WaterClan leader was peering through a telescope with his deputy, Volefoot, standing beside him. Both were wearing WaterClan warrior armor, the kind of armor Twolegs had worn in times of battle.

So all four cats raced down the cliff until they arrived at the port. When they made it, Goldwing and Nightfoot started EarthBending some docks for the great ships to stop and drop their fares off. Right when the ships dropped off their passengers, Emberstar was the first cat to arrive onto the dock. Blue eyes shining happily, Silverheart and Ashfeather raced over to greet their father.

"You made it, Dad!" Silverheart cheered, covering her father's face in happy licks.

Noticing this, Goldwing smiled. It seemed that Silverheart had finally patched things up with her father and was no longer mad at him. He knew how much family meant to her.

"Did you locate everyone I told you to find?" Ashfeather asked when the greetings were passed.

Emberstar nodded. "I did. But Ashfeather, I'm a little worried. Some of them don't exactly look like the warrior type."

Goldwing looked over his broad shoulder to see what he meant. Three recognizable cats were slowly padding down the plank and onto the deck. Not only did he recognize them by their pelt colors, but how they talked...and _smelled_...was familiar enough to him. He curled up his nose at remembering the scents of swamp fish and other swamp stuff.

"Whooo-wheee!" the skinny black tom yowled, sounding full of energy. "This place shere ain't nothin' like a swamp!" Pointing a scraggly tail at a stump in the water, he yelped, "What choo think that is, Bloat? Some sort of explodin' FireClan exploding trap that eat cha up?"

"That there's just a stump, Skunk," the fat tabby beside him corrected him. "Like back at our swamp."

Skunk cocked up a brow at this. "Really? Well, shut my mouth and paint me red! That IS a stump!"

Emberstar now raised his brow in confusion. "Is it just me, or are those fellows a little...loose in the head?"

"I just wish they'd groom their pelts," Volefoot replied, his green eyes narrowing.

Now they saw the leader of the swamp cats, Cajun, licking himself. The big fat tabby didn't seem bothered by what the WaterClan deputy just meowed. But upon hearing that, he lifted his head to give them a smile.

"Grooming is an illusion," he simply meowed. "And so is death."

As he went back to licking himself, Emberstar, Volefoot, and Silverheart had some confused and worried looks on their faces. Only Ashfeather was smiling widely; Goldwing supposed that since the swamp cats were WaterBenders, they could prove to be useful. He just silently wished that if they came across any plants along the way, then Ashfeather would treat them more nicely.

When all the swamp cats were off the boat, Ashfeather padded away to give them some seating arrangements. Goldwing, Silverheart, and Nightfoot watched them go just when a familiar mew reached their ears.

"Hey Silverheart."

They turned around to see a dark brown tabby tom with leaf-green eyes smiling at them. His fur length and fur color was quite a shocker, but Goldwing recognized the voice all the same. This cat was a friend they had met when they were apprentices.

"Brindle!" Silverheart cheered, racing over and embracing him. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Nightfoot, this cat here is Brindle," Goldwing meowed, padding forth with her at his side. He remembered that they didn't meet her until newleaf, so there was some explaining to do. "When we met him, his town was being controlled by FireClan. So though we were just apprentices, we had to help him hide his EarthBending."

"Yeah. But Silverheart stirred me and my father to take back our village and chase FireClan out," Brindle explained. "In fact, since she's a good friend to my family, I decided to be a warrior and have a name like hers. My father gave me the name Brindleheart after Silverheart's name."

This made Silverheart blush a faint pink.

Brownstone, Brindleheart's large dark tabby father, padded forth and laid his tail on Silverheart's shoulder. "Silverheart, you had helped us regain our independence and save our village. In fact, you are now a legend among us. So now we're here to help you and your friends in return. May StarClan look down kindly on you during this fight."

Silverheart looked around at him, gratitude in her dark blue eyes. Goldwing felt that she really deserved to be a legend after all she had done to help the villagers be freed from the cruel prison warden. If it weren't for her, many more cats would have died.

But suddenly, Nightfoot got into a defensive pose and spat, "No way. No _freakin'_ way! Is that..."

And just then, a huge red blur carried her off her paws and down to the ground. Before any other cat could do something, the blur was revealed to be a reddish-furred wild boar hog, who had started licking the black she-cat all over. Goldwing instantly recognized this pig.

"Warthog glad to see Blind Outlaw!" the boar cheered, continuing to lick her.

"You!" Nightfoot spat, glaring up at the Warthog. "You guys wanna re-match?"

"Negative!" A large tabby cat had prowled forth and stood beside the Warthog. "The Boulder and The Warthog no longer fight for others' amusement. Now...we have come to fight for our Clan!"

Nightfoot blinked up at her former enemy before a smile came across her face. "Sweet!"

Ashfeather had been watching this from a short way away, sharing a wistful look with his , a boat exploded from behind all the other cats, shocking them as they proceeded to run towards it. Goldwing hoped that whoever was in there was all right. If they were killed, then they would not be able to attack FireClan.

When they got there, a familiar cream-furred tom with a glass eye and a missing paw was just appearing from the lower deck, his face covered with orange goo. As he coughed, his gray-furred back-legless son was wheeling his wheelchair down the gangplank. His father, The Dude, and Tiny were trailing behind him, all covered in orange goo.

"Hey, was that a new invention?" Ashfeather asked as they greeted them.

"Indeed, dear boy!" the Scientist purred as Gray-limp started licking the orange goo off his gray fur. "Alas, the provocative aptitudes of peanut sauce proved to be nothing more than a failure."

Ashfeather's eyes shone. "So you're making peanut sauce bombs?"

"Yeah!" Tiny prowled forward with The Dude riding on his shoulders. Both ginger-&-white toms were covered in peanut sauce. "They're destructive."

"And delicious!" The Dude added as they licked the sauce off their faces.

Tobias cawed and flew over to the two rogues, where he perched on top of Tiny's huge head and tries to nip the peanut sauce off his face. This caused Tiny and The Dude to purr in amusement.

Ashfeather purred at this before turning back to the Scientist. "Did you complete the work on the plans I sent you?"

The Scientist nodded. "That's right. And I think FireClan be quite surprised. This will literally become the cat's meow!"

"Goldwing." Gray-limp's meow made the tiger-striped tom turn to face him. The crippled gray tom took a pole-like object from his wheelchair and mewed, "My dad and I made this for you."

Mewing in thanks, Goldwing took the pole and pawed at a button near the bottom. And to his amazement and joy...blue wings popped out from the pole, wings like a jay. He never thought he would see an ancient relic like this ever again.

"Wow!" he gasped, inspecting it. "A new glider! This is amazing...thanks!"

"And I added a feature to this," the Scientist meowed, limping forth thanks to his missing paw. "A snack box!"

The cream-furred loner ducked his head under the handle and pulled on it. Peanuts tumbled out of the box into his mouth, making him nod in satisfaction as he crunched on the nuts.

Goldwing tilted his head to the side, quite amazed yet confused of why he would want it. But he knew that he would have to be polite about it, so he mewed, "I'm sure that'll be handy. Thanks."

But the little add-on wasn't that important now. What was more important was that their allies were now here to help out with the invasion. Now...with his newest glider and his friends and allies with him, they were nearly ready.

**...**

"I bet you're getting' tired of that cell, old man."

Irontail could see the Warden Poon sitting on the floor doing his grooming. The former FireClan warrior had hardened himself to ignore the taunts, so the insults would have no effect on him.

As if he hadn't answered, the Warden Poon sneered, "Well, guess what? Too bad, you crazy old bastard. You ain't never gonna step outside these walls again."

Irontail did not let the orange tabby see him smile. If he did, then he would know something was up. But he did know that he would get outside again and see his nephew.

"Time for breakfast, Irontail."

The newcomer was revealed to be a brown she-cat with amber-yellow eyes. She appeared to be carrying a tray with a bowl of cream and three voles on the top.

"Careful there, Quailsong. Don't get too close," the Warden Poon sneered, standing up. "His dog stench will knock you out."

He let out a harsh laugh before spitting at Irontail's paws and leaving the room. Quailsong glared after him, looking annoyed, but she dropped the look when she looked over at Irontail. Her eyes softened when she saw the gray tabby sitting alone in his cell.

As soon as the ginger tabby was gone, the brown she-cat padded over to Irontail's cell and laid the tray at his paws. "Don't listen to him, sir; he likes to get under your pelt. Anyways, I snuck in some Taiwanese cream. I know how much you like rare cream."

"Thank you, Quailsong," Irontail replied, gratefully taking a few laps of cream. "Ever since I was put in here by FireClan, you have been very kind to me."

Quailsong merely tilted her head to the side and gave a cheerful purr of amusement. Irontail almost wished there were cats like her in the world, but he knew no one was perfect...not even his own family.

**...**

The warriors of WaterClan and EarthClan were just having their meal. There was no time for battle training, for they would soon be out in the field. Goldwing saw that despite Ashfeather holding scrolls in his jaws, he was gulping nervously.

"Don't worry, son," Emberstar told him reassuringly. "You'll do fine."

So Ashfeather took a deep breath and padded up to the platform. As soon as he arrived, all the other cats stopped what they were doing and looked up, as attentive as cats in a Gathering.

"Good morning, everyone!" the dark gray tabby tom called. But as soon as he meowed this, he suddenly tripped and started to pick up his fallen scrolls hurriedly. After some more awkward silence, Ashfeather went on, "Uhm...as you all know, we're invading FireClan today. I mean, I know you know that. Because why else would you guys be here?"

He laughed nervously, but none of the other cats laughed. So Ashfeather clumsily dropped some more scrolls, picked them up, and placed them on a board. With that done, he began, "Anyways, Darkstar's palace is right here...uh...no, wait!" He flipped a page, flipped again, and flipped for the final time, meowing, "Actually, it's here."

Again, no response. Yet Skunk looked up from scratching at his ear as he heard this, looking very confused.

"Uh...and an eclipse is coming today, and Goldwing's gonna fight Darkstar," Ashfeather went on. But he looked like he was going to panic, so he meowed on, "And the FireBenders won't have any fire to use...so that's good for us! And...uh..."

No response. Gray-limp and the Scientist were starting to look bored.

Seeing this, Ashfeather meowed, "Sorry, lemme start at the beginning." Then he took a deep breath and talked in the fastest way Goldwing had ever heard him talk.

"Silverheart and I found Goldwing frozen in a white stone. Silverheart was Silverpaw, Goldwing was Goldpaw, and I was Ashpaw. I didn't like him at first, but I grew to love him like a brother over time. Then we went over to the Southern AirClan camp where Goldwing used to live. And then we went to the Island Of Heavy Roses and met Echo In Quiet Storm, who is a Tribe cat. She made me dress like a she-cat and then she licked me on the cheek and..."

The WaterClan cats looked bored and began to yawn. Quietly in Goldwing's ear, Silverheart whispered, "Wow. When he says beginning, he means THE beginning."

As Emberstar began padding up the platform, Ashfeather continued talking, "And we saw that Goldwing's friend was a crazy old cat and then Silverheart got Brindleheart arrested, and now his fur's darker. And if you look in the front row, you can see him..."

"Thank you, Ashfeather," Emberstar finally meowed, laying a paw on his son's shoulder. "It's okay; you did great. How about you take a break?"

Ashfeather looked disappointed, but he obliged and sat down with the rest of AvatarClan.

As soon as Emberstar began to speak, the warriors began to take interest in what he had to say. The WaterClan leader was meowing, "Let me just clarify a few points for everyone. Today is the Day of Dark Sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice and your courage. The warriors of the ancient Clans value those traits, and we value them today. There are two steps to the invasion. A marine stage and a land stage. To gain sea access to FireClan's capital, we have to get pass our first major obstacle here. The Great Gates of Thistlestar," he added, flicking his tail to the center of the map. He flipped to another map and went on, "Next, we hit the land and hit it hard. We fight past their ramparts and secure the square tower. Once we do that, we'll head up to the royal palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin."

"Excuse me," The Boulder called. When Emberstar allowed him to speak, the brown tabby rogue meowed, "Sorry, but The Boulder is confused. Shouldn't we just attack _during _the eclipse? You know, when the FireBenders are _defenseless_?"

"True, but the eclipse will last only for eight minutes," the dark gray tom replied. "There won't be enough time for the whole invasion, and the royal palace is heavily guarded. So that's when we'll need the eclipse the most. When this is done, Avatar Cat Goldwing will defeat Darkstar. We will take control of FireClan's capital, and this war will be over! To the Clans!"

At the sound of that, every cat stood up and began yowling and cheering. The Dude and Tiny were in the middle of them in the crowd, cheering wildly as The Dude rode on Tiny's massive shoulders. AvatarClan had joined in with the yowls...yet Ashfeather was still looking downcast. Whatever was upsetting him, Goldwing knew he could use that in battle.

After that, everyone started getting geared up for battle. Silverheart was Bending somewater from the stream from the hiding place into her pouch. Nightfoot was putting on a scarf around her neck, her claws sinking into the ground. Emberstar was putting on a helmet, which closely resembled a wolf's head. And Archie stamped his foot on the ground, his new armor glinting in the sun as he roared.

As for Goldwing...he had noticed that a bit of golden was appearing on his tiger fur. So he padded towards a tree by the river and started rubbing against it, leaving black-&-ginger fur to fall off towards the ground. When he stood up as he finished, he looked down into the water as he held his glider in his jaws. His fur was back to the sunny golden color he was named after, the white arrow stripe on his head glowing proudly in the sunlight.

_The Avatar Cat is back! _he thought as he stared on ahead. A sheep walked up beside him and bleated, making him reach over and pat it on the head. The battle was drawing nearer than before.

**...**

Bearclaw gave a weary sigh as he sat on his nest, removing the pin that fastened his royal collar onto his neck. Feeling the cool breeze on his neck, he felt the fur fall down until he looked like a brown tabby lion again. After he put the collar into his bag, he proceeded to remove the shoulder padding from his armor and set it down.

_I know what to do now. This is for the good of FireClan._

He looked over at the calligraphy brushes, an ink plate and a piece of paper with two wooden paperweights on it. Bearclaw padded over and smoothed the paper down with one of the wooden blocks before staring at the paper. Then he reached his paw over to one of the brushes and began dipping the end in ink. Finally, he began writing what he had to say, asking StarClan to let Rose forgive him.

**...**

Goldwing climbed over some rocks, sniffing the air a few times. The invasion force was ready to move out, yet Ashfeather had gone missing. As he rounded around a rock corner, he looked up and found the WaterClan warrior looking down at his battle helmet despondently. Deciding to test his new glider out, he flew over to where Ashfeather was.

"Ashfeather, there you are!" Goldwing meowed. "We were looking for you! The boats are ready to leave."

His friend didn't speak at first, but then he mewed, "I messed up, Goldwing." As the golden tom felt confused at this, he went on, "The invasion plan was my defining moment. And I completely screwed it up. I just...fell apart."

_There will be times_

_On this journey_

_When all you'll see is darkness_

Goldwing sighed slightly and laid his tail on his shoulder. "Ashfeather, that speech wasn't your defining moment. That was just public speaking, and nobody's perfect at that. Not even a leader can have perfect speaking skills."

"My dad is, thought," Ashfeather mewed sadly. "He explained the plan perfectly and inspired everyone. Like a real leader should."

"Look, your defining moment isn't going to be in front of a map," Goldwing told him, flicking his tail towards the sea. "It'll be out there on the battlefield. And a warrior isn't judged by how smart or strong they are; they're judged by their loyalty and courage."

Ashfeather looked over at him, amazed. "You seem sure about everything. How the hell do you know we'll win?"

Goldwing lowered his gaze, still unable to get over the fact that he failed at BoulderClan. Yet he had not let it get in the way of training. So he looked up at his friend and mewed with willpower, "Because I already failed the world at BoulderClan. I won't fail again."

_But out there somewhere_

_Daylight finds you_

_If you keep believing_

This made Ashfeather look over at him with empathy and a small smile. Once he was absolutely reassured, Goldwing began climbing down the rocks, Ashfeather following him. Now that the dark gray tabby tom got his confidence back, he could really prove himself well in battle. And once the battle was over, they would win, and the Clans would be in peace.

**...**

Once everyone was ready, the five ships began heading out into sea. Ashfeather noticed five large gray whales following the ships; he knew they were part of the plan. Every part of his body was tingling with excitement and fear at the same time. He knew many warriors would die this day...including himself...but he knew it was for all the Clans.

"There they are." Volefoot's voice made him look over to see the blue-gray tom looking over at a statue of Thistlestar shrouded in fog. "The Great Gates of Thistlestar."

"I don't see any gates," Silverheart spoke up, her silver tabby pelt shivering in the fog.

Volefoot scanned to the right and spotted a griffin statue with a net sticking outside its mouth. Beside him, Silverheart and the SwampBending cats were trying to peer through the dense fog.

"Silverheart, you and the swamp cats whip up a fog cover," Emberstar told her. "Quickly!"

Bloat nodded. "We'll sneak past them statues just like we sneaked by that blockade!"

So Silverheart and the swamp cats jumped into position, spreading their paws apart at the same time as they sat on their haunches. By this time, the boats were now being rapidly covered in fog. At the Gates of Thistlestar, nets were slowly coming out from the statue's sleeves.

"Keep it up! We're almost through!" Emberstar called.

But suddenly, an alarm rang out across the quiet water. Smoke emitted from the griffin statue's beak, and the net rose above the fog. And just as the alarm had begun...it stopped. Ashfeather let out a small sigh, thinking it was all over. But he was wrong.

Just then, fire shot out from the griffin statue's beak, engulfing the net in a wall of flames. The net continued to rise out from the water, and fire slowly spread out through it. Thistlestar's statue towered above the ships, a net of fire on both sides of the statue's body. Ashfeather stared on in disbelief and horror; this was not how the invasion was supposed to start.

_Damn! StarClan give us a sign now!_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The statue of Thistlestar with nets of fire on both sides looked like it would spring to life and attack the invaders. As if on cue, the boats began stopping directly in front of the net. Many cats on board (Goldwing, Silverheart, Emberstar, and Volefoot included) all stared on in shock. Their heads turned as the sound of FireClan jet skis pierced the silence. A couple of jet skis were seen rushing towards the boats.

"Everyone below deck!" Emberstar called as AvatarClan and a few EarthClan warriors ran down to the deck below. Before Ashfeather followed, the dark gray tom gave his son a confident smile and purred, "Let's hope your invention works."

Ashfeather nodded, and both proceeded to join the others below.

Unknowingly to them, as soon as they left, the jet skis stopped beside each boat. Climbing hooks were being shot into a boat, and FireClan warriors landed aboard in a bowing position, preparing to search the entire ship. Then they spread out and began sniffing the area, yet they were unable to find any cats.

Three FireClan warriors kicked a door down, their claws unsheathed, but there was just an empty WaterClan bedroom. Two more warriors blasted down a door with fire and entered the room in a battle position. They maintained their guard as they looked around the empty room. Just then, the other warriors came down to explain their report.

"No one's on board, sir," a black-&-gray tabby cat growled.

"Where'd they go?" a ginger she-cat asked.

**...**

Below the water, the five gray whales were slipping by the gates undetected, little cabins stuck to either their bellies or their huge heads. Archie was swimming with an air bubble over his head, though Ashfeather knew it was Silverheart doing that. But all the same, he felt proud of the new inventions he and the Scientist made; this was working very well.

"This is a fine invention you have, son," Emberstar meowed to Ashfeather. "You should be proud of yourself."

Ashfeather purred; he WAS proud. But what was even better was that his father approved of this.

"Yeah. Well done." Nightfoot was lifting a paw from her head, a look of discomfort on her face. The Dude was sitting beside her as she went on, "You invented a worse way to travel than flying."

But she couldn't say anything else, for she was starting to gag.

"Need a helmet?" The Dude asked, taking off his battle helmet and offering it to the black she-cat. Nightfoot quickly accepted it, and Ashfeather heard her wretch inside the helmet.

Turning back to his father, he meowed, "Well, I just came up with the idea. But the Mechanist here did all the work.

"But don't sell yourself short, my dear boy," the cream-furred loner purred. Flicking his ears at Silverheart and Cajun working together in WaterBending, he went on, "It was your idea to use WaterBending to make the subs sink and float. Brilliant! Although...your original designs were a bit difficult to translate."

He unrolled a scroll with a picture of a whale with cats inside drawn in cartoon style. Ashfeather chuckled nervously; he had made it look like the whales ate the cats. He felt lucky at seeing this error in time.

But the Scientist went on, "Alas, there is one problem I couldn't fix. The subs have a limited air supply. The whales will have to resurface before we land on the beaches of FireClan."

_True that, _Ashfeather thought as his father began meowing instructions.

**...**

"Lunchtime, Irontail."

Irontail looked up to see Quailsong padding over to his cell with a tray of food; on there were a bowl of cream and three mice. Since the Warden Poon wasn't keeping up guard duty this time, this was a good idea to put his plan into action.

As Quailsong gently pushed the tray over to the old gray tabby, she added quietly, "And this time, I managed to bring you an extra mouse."

"Thank you, Quailsong," Irontail purred. "Your little gestures of kindness had made my days in prison even more endurable."

At that moment, he decided that his plan should carry out here and there. So he looked over at Quailsong and spoke up, "You know...I think you should take the rest of the day off."

"What?" the brown she-cat asked, surprised.

"You don't look so well," Irontail went on, rearing onto his hind legs until he was leaning against them. "Maybe you should go home and take a nap."

Quailsong looked even more confused. "What're you meowing about? I feel fine."

So Irontail pressed on, "Trust me, Quailsong. It is better that you are not here for the rest of today."

The FireClan warrior looked like she was going to protest some more. But Irontail guessed she was thinking that he was going to be put to death sometime today. So she nodded and obeyed as she hesitantly left the room, Irontail watching her go.

It shamed him a bit to go against a new friend like this, but he knew he couldn't think about it now. He knew this was the day the eclipse had arrived; he had heard several warriors telling each other about this day. If only Bearclaw had not turned away from good, then he would be able to perhaps help the Avatar Cat...

**...**

Finally, the whales had to come up for air, taking huge mouthfuls of krill along the way. As soon as they floated up to the surface, the cats got out of the machines and were getting ready. The Dude was scooping some seawater in his helmet, sloshing it around a few times before dumping whatever Nightfoot threw up back into the sea. Not far away, The Boulder and The Warthog were doing some stretching and warming up exercises.

A meow made Goldwing turn to see his friends padding up to him, ready for battle. He realized that they were not the same young cats always getting into misadventures. Instead, they were now seasoned warriors ready to save the world from harm.

"So this is it," Goldwing mewed, breaking the short silence.

"Yep," Ashfeather replied, nodding. "You ready for FireClan to know the Avatar Cat's back?"

Goldwing nodded. "I'm ready."

Ashfeather nodded and clapped his paw on the AirClan warrior's lean shoulder, wishing him luck. Then Goldwing saw Silverheart and Nightfoot gather around for a group hug, which in fact happened, Tobias joining in. This made Goldwing think over all they had gone through over the last moons: going to the North Pole to learn WaterBending, finding an EarthBending mentor, and going on the long journey to BoulderClan.

"I hope you kick some serious Darkstar ass, Twinkletoes," Nightfoot purred.

"Everyone listen up." The small pack separated and looked up at Emberstar, who was addressing the entire invasion force from the submarine's entrance. "The next time we resurface, it'll be on FireClan beaches. So stay alert, keep your eyes open and your ears pricked, and fight smart. Now this break is over, so back in the subs."

At this, he leapt back down into the submarine-whale. Nightfoot and Ashfeather followed him, but Goldwing and Silverheart remained behind. Both cats stared at each other and looked away. Goldwing knew that this day could be the last time he would ever see Silverheart...the only she-cat he had ever loved. He did not want to part from her, but he knew he would have to fight Darkstar alone.

Then they meowed...

"Goldwing, I-"

"Silverheart, I-"

They stopped. Goldwing looked over at her and mewed, "Sorry. You go first if you want."

_So don't run, don't hide_

_It will be all right_

_You'll see, trust me_

_I'll be there watching over you_

Silverheart nodded, her eyes gazing into his. "We've been through so many things together over the past eight moons, and I've seen you grow up so much. You're not that goofy little apprentice Ashfeather and I found in the white stone anymore."

Goldwing blushed.

"But what I'm trying to say is...I'm so proud of you, Goldwing," Silverheart purred. "I really am."

"Thanks," Goldwing replied. A few more seconds of awkward silence passed between them before he asked, "Everything is gonna change after today, isn't it?"

Silverheart nodded. "Yes...it is."

"But what if...what if I don't return?" Goldwing blurted out. Up until now, he knew he would have to fight hard to save the Clans or die trying. But after hearing Silverheart's comforting words, he now felt afraid of being away from her for that long.

"Don't say that, Goldwing," Silverheart told him firmly yet softly. Of course you'll come-"

But Goldwing did not let her finish, for he stepped forth and rubbed her muzzle gently against hers. Silverheart looked shocked, but she closed her eyes as she let him do so, doing this for a few more seconds. When he broke away, the silver tabby she-cat looked over at him, blushing as she gave him a confused and concerned look, her blue eyes reflected in his eyes. She looked so beautiful to him now, so precious, yet he knew she could die today too.

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_There's a better place_

_Somewhere out there_

As Silverheart looked away, the Avatar Cat opened his new glider's wings and took off towards land. Watching him go, Silverheart thought over what had just happened, blushing. Just now...the cat she thought was her friend...had nuzzled her like mates would. She tried to dismiss this as a sign of friendship, but she couldn't get it out of her head.

_Is Goldwing in love with me? _she thought. _And...do I love him back?_

"Silverheart, what the hell are you still doing out here?" Ashfeather's voice made her turn to see her brother poking his head out from the submarine entrance. "Are you gonna stand there until moss grows on your paws? It's time to submerge!"

"Huh?" she mewed, still unable to get what she experienced out of her head. Silverheart cleared her mind and replied, "Sorry. I'm on it."

She WaterBended herself over to Archie and began to Bend an air bubble around his head. The white-furred dragon growled, and the entire invasion force began to submerge. But as she did so, Silverheart could not get Goldwing out of her head now. She figured she could like him back, but he would need to mature just a little more.

_Please, Goldwing. Come back to us soon. We need you...the Clans need you...and I need you._

_Just take a look through my eyes_

_Everything changes_

_You'll be amazed what you'll find_

_If you look through my eyes_

**...**

Bearclaw was just picking up a cape with the hood before something caught his eyes. He looked over at a nearby picture of him and Rose on Black Sand Island, staring at it for a moment before looking away. He knew his mate would be very angry if he did this, but there was no turning back now.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Bearclaw whispered as he placed a scroll on the scarlet pillow of her nest. "Truly, I am."

And at that, he silently went back to packing.

**...**

Goldwing was still sailing through the air on a grassy plain, thinking over what had happened. He had finally done it; he had shown Silverheart his deepest secret. But he didn't want to lose her and the others in the invasion, so he knew he had to defeat Darkstar quickly. So he kept his eyes back on the path and continued on as if his thoughts weren't bothered.

Just then, he heard a low growling from out of nowhere. It took a few seconds to realize that his belly was growling; he hadn't eaten a lot before the invasion. So he started maneuvering the handle to release some peanuts into his mouth.

"Huh. What do you know? It DID come in handy," he mewed to himself out loud, his mouth full of peanuts.

He looked down at the shadow of him flying, several antelope grazing beneath him. Goldwing added some more speed and flew off quickly towards FireClan's capital. Where Darkstar was said to live at.

**...**

"Everyone into your positions," Emberstar was meowing. "EarthBenders, get into your tanks_. _This is gonna be a bumpy ride."

Nightfoot and the EarthClan cats nodded as they leapt down a ladder to their positions. Just the thrill of the battle and fighting alongside his father was enough for Ashfeather to slide his claws out. Goldwing was right; his defining moment was out in the battlefield, not talking in front of others. He prepared himself as they slowly approached the land.

As the submarines approached the gate, an alarm similar to the one heard at the Great Gates of Thistlestar began ringing. Harpoons shot out from various ramparts into the water as the whales tried to dodge them. Harpoons continuously filled the water as Archie narrowly swam to the side to avoid being speared by one. Skunk started WaterBending the submarine as a harpoon pierced through the submarine, filling the ship with water. A roar of pain told the cats that a whale had been struck, its blood obscuring the water. He froze the water and quickly lost his balance as the harpoon reeled the submarine in.

As the injured whale was slowly being pulled out of the water, Silverheart and Archie saw the situation from underwater and began to ascend. Archie roared loudly as he left the water, and Silverheart proceeded to cut the harpoon with WaterBending, allowing the whale to land safely back into the water as it continued on like nothing happened. The whales then started heading towards some holes in a wall.

"Ready the torpedo!" Emberstar ordered. A torpedo encased in ice was loaded by two engineers as they locked and sealed the canon. "Ready...launch!"

Cajun did a WaterBending move, and torpedoes shot out from the bottom of all the submarines, destroying the vents on the wall. Columns of water sprayed upwards upon impact. Since they could not fit, the whales stayed on the outside, and the submarines entered the holes in the wall. The two remaining submarines joined up with the other three in front. They were close now.

The EarthClan and WaterClan warriors were now quietly waiting in the tanks. Ashfeather sighed during the wait, knowing that his defining moment had really come. Soon, he would be fighting alongside his Clanmates and allies for the safety of all Clans.

"I'm ready," he mewed mostly to himself.

The submarines were resurfacing and heading towards the shore while numerous projectiles were hurled at the submarines. The submarines landed on shore and their base retracted, revealing a big team of tanks that moved and looked a lot like caterpillars. These new tanks were advancing towards the capital as projectiles continued to be thrown at the submarines. And so, Ashfeather and the other warriors yowled battle cries and rushed out to attack. Above the noise, he heard this:

"Cats of the Clans! ATTACK!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The invasion force was slowly making its way to the capital city, projectiles still being thrown at them. The EarthClan warriors were moving their paws in a pushing motion to move the tanks. Ashfeather led a team of WaterClan warriors, some carrying weapons and shields but all with unsheathed claws. A missile was shot at the invaders, but one way or another, it missed. A truck-like monster loaded with rocks was making its way through the battlefield, releasing three rocks which Nightfoot, The Boulder, and The Warthog used to EarthBend towards a wall, destroying it in the process.

Behind them, Archie landed on the ground, and Silverheart leapt down. Up ahead, a group of big FireClan tanks were making its way into the battlefield, FireBending at their enemies at the same time. But the heroic tanks still kept advancing towards the capital as projectiles continued to be thrown at the submarines. A caterpillar tank with Gray-limp and two EarthBenders inside started crawling up a barricade as the FireBenders inside tried to destroy the tank with FireBending in vain. The tank proceeded to crush the roof of the battlement as another crushed a FireClan tank and moving on when it was done, leaving behind the bodies of the cats crushed to death inside.

More reinforcements were sent in, surrounding the invaders. The swamp cats were stopping in their tracks as they spotted incoming enemy tanks. They Bended some water from barrels on a monster to shield themselves from enemy fire before Bending the sides of the FireClan tank. Thus, it spun wildly, causing it to crash into the sides of another fellow tank as they exploded on impact. However, one swamp cat tried to fight physically, but he ended up getting his throat slashed by a FireClan warrior.

"Dammit! We're a cat down!" Bloat hissed. "Where in tarnation is Cajun?"

But he and Skunk unleashed their attacks, and a FireClan tank was tossed into the water. All of a sudden, they saw a shadow moving underwater, resurfacing. Ashfeather recognized it as the swamp monster he and his friends battled.

It swiped a fire blast away with a hand and began to extend its arms to grab a tank. The FireClan warriors took one look at it and fled, leaving the tanks at the last minute. Another tank tried to FireBend at the monster, and FireClan cats fled from the tank before it got crushed by the swamp monster's arm. A FireClan she-cat Bended fire from the mouth of a tank as she and her cohort escaped when the swamp monster threw the tank aside.

Noticing the monster, Skunk and Bloat traced the path of the tank being thrown into a wall. The wall exploded into flames upon impact just as the swamp cats turned to their leader.

"Howdy, Cajun!" Skunk called, waving his tail. "Where you been?"

"Connecting with nature," the brown tabby purred in reply, making a hole appear in the middle of the swamp monster's body so he could talk. "Takes a while to collect these here seaweed." Then he spotted an incoming attack and quickly covered his face as a fire blast narrowly tried to injure him.

Meanwhile, some FireClan cats on komodo dragons began to catapult small projectiles of fire towards Ashfeather and his Clanmates. The projectiles exploded harmlessly behind the group as they continued to press forward, making the big lizards rush at the group. One of the monitors disbanded from the pack and towards Ashfeather as he jumped on its head and sliced at the eyes of the rider. The dark gray tabby tom, feeling the blood on his claws, kicked the warrior off the komodo dragon as he gained control of it.

"Dad, look out!" he called, watching his father fight.

Emberstar had just leapt out of the way of some fire. An orange cat rushed towards him, his fangs bared, but Emberstar grabbed the cat by the neck, blood spraying in the air, and threw him down. The FireClan cat quickly grabbed a spear and swiped it at Emberstar's paws, but the dark gray tom did the same thing. So the FireClan cat was left without a spear while Emberstar had one in his jaws. He used the spear to jab at the face of a FireClan cat before throwing it to one of the other enemies. As that cat was pierced through the heart, Emberstar quickly leapt onto the komodo dragon his son was riding.

They looked back at a missile destroying the monster loaded with rocks, but the driver was comically driving the destroyed monster. Meanwhile, the swamp monster was busy destroying two FireClan tanks in one fierce swipe, but a fire blast collided with it, and the swamp monster lost an arm. The cats beside the caterpillar tank fled when the tank got knocked over by an enemy projectile. Seeing blood everywhere, this battle was getting deadly.

"We have to take out those battlements," Emberstar rasped as they looked down at the battle. "It's our only chance."

Ashfeather nodded before looking up at a battlement. An idea quickly forming in his head, he muttered, "Dad...I think I've got an idea."

**...**

Ashfeather was hanging off on one of Archie's horn as he flew through the air with Silverheart on the white-furred dragon's head and Emberstar in the saddle. They had managed to explain the plan to each other before they lifted off. Ashfeather raised his meteor sword from its hilt and cut off a missile from a tower. Emberstar tossed a few small grenades into another battlement. A few FireClan cats had fled as the tower exploded a split second later, groaning from the impact. Others weren't so lucky.

Silverheart quickly removed a barrel through WaterBending and threw the water inside a tower, freezing a female soldier inside as she yelped in surprise. Archie landed between two towers as all three WaterClan warriors dismounted.

"You two take out that battlement," Emberstar told his kits. "I'll get this one. Make sure you watch each other's backs."

At this, he headed towards his battlement while the siblings headed towards the other.

Ashfeather sliced through the metal door with his sword while Silverheart froze the warriors inside with WaterBending. With that done, Ashfeather scaled up the ladder swiftly and destroyed the missile. As they fled from the tower while it exploded, they paused to see their father just entering the tower through the roof by smashing down on the wood. Sounds of claws clashing, cats shrieking, and blood splattering were heard and they heard a grunt of pain as an explosion came through the window.

Silverheart and Ashfeather stood there, frozen in their tracks and shocked. To their great relief, Emberstar had survived, covered in blood. But to their horror, he staggered a few more steps before collapsing.

"DAD!" both siblings screamed, dashing to him and checking his condition.

Emberstar had fallen unconscious, not breathing and covered in so much blood. Wounds were racing across his body like stripes, and one of his paws looked like it was sprained. They were not medicine cats, so they had to try and get him back to camp.

_Son of a bitch, Goldwing! Where are you? _Ashfeather pleaded silently, looking up to the sky.

**...**

Bearclaw looked up at the portrait he had wanted to see throughout his life. This was a picture of his mother, his kind and beautiful mother. He knew Bearheart had always encouraged him to do the right thing, and he wanted to do so. But after she had vanished, things fell apart. Darkstar got even worse up until he abused his kits, and Frostfire was becoming as smug and arrogant as their father.

Yet Bearclaw did not let it bother him now. Instead of feeling Mapleshade's evil presence next to him, he thought he heard his mother's sweet low voice whispering to him. He looked up at the picture of his light brown tabby mother and sighed.

"Mother...I know I made some bad choices after you left," he mewed. "But today, I'm gonna set things right. I have to leave FireClan...willingly this time."

So Bearclaw grabbed his broadswords and backpack before looking at his mother's portrait for one last time. He knew that Darkstar would never allow him back into the Clan after this...but this time, he felt that he did not care. Bearclaw also knew he had wronged other cats that had become his friends...like Silverheart.

Finally, he threw on his cape and padded away, not looking back.

**...**

Archie landed softly on the ground, away from the battle. Emberstar grunted in pain as he was being laid on the ground by Ashfeather. Silverheart Bended some water from her WaterBending pouch and moved her paws across her father's wound, healing it in the process.

"How does that feel, Dad?" she asked. "Did you lose another life?"

"I-It feels...a little better. I did lose a life...but it wasn't my last...fortunately," he grunted. He tried to get to his paws, groaning, "I need to get back...to the battle."

He groaned in agony as he rose slightly to his paws, only to stumble. Silverheart laid him back down to the ground, mewing, "No. You're badly hurt. You can't fight anymore today."

Emberstar winced from the pain as he tried to get back up again before falling back down. "My daughter...everyone's counting on me to lead this mission...I won't let them down...and I won't give up..."

Ashfeather sighed, for he did not want his father to give up. So he turned to his sister and asked urgently, "Can't you heal him any faster?"

"I'm doing everything I can," the silver tabby she-cat retorted, but she also looked worried.

Ashfeather looked away before closing his eyes to make a decision. He always thought he would survive a warrior's battle with his father by his side, but that looked like it would not happen now. However, he had fought against many great things with his friends by his side, and he did not want all of it (and Emberstar's sacrifice) to be in vain. There was one thing left to do.

"I'll do it."

The other two cats looked over at him while Silverheart sighed, "Ashfeather, I don't want to offend you, but you're not exactly Mr. Healing Paws."

"No, not that," Ashfeather retorted as he got to his paws."I'll lead the invasion force."

"What?" Silverheart looked like her littermate had invited a fox to join the invasion. "Don't be mouse-brained, Ashfeather."

Ashfeather retorted, "Maybe you're right; maybe I AM mouse-brained. But the eclipse is about to start soon, and we need to be up that volcano by the time it does."

It took a few seconds for anyone else to reply before Emberstar finally looked up at his son. "You can do this. Ashfeather. I'm proud of you and your sister."

Silverheart sighed, giving her brother a smile that was half reassuring and half annoyed. "I _still_ think you're mouse-brained, but I'm proud of you too, Ashfeather."

With that said, Ashfeather fitted himself into one of the best armor made in WaterClan before leaping onto Archie's head. Silverheart and Emberstar were watching him with pride in their blue eyes before he turned back to the battle.

"Yip yip," he told Archie. The Asian Lung dragon grunted and soared off into the sky.

Ashfeather looked down in awe over the damaged FireClan vehicles. Most of the FireClan tanks were now encased in ice. The caterpillar tanks were now leaving the mess behind (including the bodies of squashed cats) and heading towards the volcano. More missiles were hurled towards the caterpillar tanks, but Archie landed and knocked back an enemy tank with his head.

Seeing his friends and allies fighting, Ashfeather yowled, "All cats old enough to Bend and fight listen up!"

So all the cats gathered to hear what he had to say. Gray-limp was staring up at the dark gray tabby warrior with curiosity from his tank.

"All right, I want the tanks in wedge formation! Warriors and Benders in the middle!" While Nightfoot and the EarthBenders got into position, Ashfeather went on, flicking his tail at the nearest tower, "We're taking that tower and headed for the royal palace! Move out, everyone! For the Clans!"

So the caterpillar tanks began moving into said formation. Ashfeather had padded right to the front with Archie, ready for the true battle to begin. Loudly, he let out a battle cry.

"Warriors of all Clans...ATTACK!"

**...**

Goldwing was starting to get tired of running through the streets of the capital city. So he opened his glider and flew deeper into the city, where he landed on a roof and closed up his glider. He peered out from the roof and looks at the empty streets.

To his surprise, the streets were empty; not even prey was around. Goldwing wondered how this happened, leaping down from the roof and staring about. After some more prowling about, he realized that there were no cats or other animals in the city. But all were left here were nothing but cockroaches.

_That's weird, _he thought. _Where'd everyone go?_

Not pausing to rest, he managed to run all the way towards the palace doors. Once he got to the door, he opened it a bit and looked around; the corridor was in total darkness. The door opened, filling the corridor with light as Goldwing quickly got into a defensive position.

"The Avatar Cat is back!" he yowled. "Fight me, Darkstar! Today, I'll be your opponent!"

But there was no answer. He was surprised that no one was there to receive him. Deciding to try and find if someone was home, he started prowling towards the inner palace doors.

"Hello?" Goldwing called. "Anyone home?"

**...**

There was now a lone FireClan warrior trying to fight the advancing caterpillar tanks. He slowly retreated as they climbed up the stairs towards the capital; however, he quickly got killed by an EarthClan warrior. After that, two other warriors were doing their best to send deadly fire blasts at a caterpillar tank. When no damage was done, they fled. So a mini-monster and two caterpillar tanks got to press forward.

Ashfeather leapt out of the monster, thankful this was going good so far. The monster loaded with barrels of explosives suddenly collided into a wall, exploding upon impact. The smoke that covered the wall began to clear, and the invading warriors began charging into the capital city. FireClan warriors and tanks retreated while three FireClan cats at the front sent three nonstop blasts towards the group. The shields of the invasion force, however, blocked the fire blasts.

"FireClan is fleeing!" Brownstone roared.

Ashfeather nodded in approval as Archie landed on the ground. When he did, Volefoot ran up to beside Archie, looking fine other than a couple of scratches on his back.

"We're on our way to victory," the WaterClan deputy panted.

Once again, Ashfeather nodded in approval before looking back at the volcano. Wherever Goldwing was at, he had to hurry; the eclipse would start in a few minutes.

**...**

Goldwing sliced a FireClan drapery out of the way and leapt into a defensive stance as he stalked into yet another room. He felt his heart beat in disbelief. It couldn't be...Darkstar was supposed to stay here and plot things. But that gave him an idea; the leader could be in his throne room.

So he ran off towards a large pair of doors and opened them the best he could. It was a throne room, all right...an empty and dark throne room. Goldwing couldn't believe it...Darkstar was gone. The invasion was going wrong.

"Shit..." he rasped, dropping to the ground and shaking his head. "Shit, shit, SHIT!" Raising his voice and his head, he roared angrily, "_WHERE ARE YOU, DARKSTAR_!"

His voice echoed slightly throughout the empty throne room. And then...there was only silence.

Goldwing once again dropped down to the floor, but he picked himself up in time. Unable to believe what had happened, he began to half-run and half-stagger out of the throne room and out of the palace. He would have to tell everyone the bad news.

_Did...did FireClan know about this? Are they winning so soon?_

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Aang: I can't believe we got this far!**

**Katara: Me neither. But...I'm still amazed at the kiss you gave me, Aang.**

**Aang: It was to show you how much you meant to me. (They kiss)**

**AvatarCat12: That's nice. I'm not into romance a lot, but that's nice. Anyways, here's the review thing and the preview for Day Of Dark Sun: The Dark Sun. So...read and review, folks! Those who do will get virtual plush dolls of any of your favorite ATLA characters in their cat forms. I don't allow flame, but advice and constructive criticism are allowed.**

**Preview: The invasion still rages on, but the warrior cats are running out of time. So Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot decide to find Darkstar and defeat him. Will they be prepared for what they meet in the end? Meanwhile, as the eclipse arrives, Bearclaw tells Darkstar about what had happened throughout those moons...and reveals his inner self.**

**All three: See ya next time!**


	11. The Dark Sun

**AvatarCat12: So here we go, folks! Part 2 of Day Of Dark Sun!**

**Aang: Thank the spirits for that! I just can't wait to see the rest of Book 3!**

**Katara: We still have ten more episodes to go after that. But that's what makes it more exciting than before. And after this series is complete, Avatar Cat, what will you do?**

**AvatarCat12: ...huh. I'm not sure. Just...maybe finish up the other FanFics I have. But anyways, here's the disclaimer, folks!**

**Disclaimer: Remember, folks. I don't own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats.**

**Summary: The invasion still rages on, but the warrior cats are running out of time. So Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot decide to find Darkstar and defeat him. Will they be prepared for what they meet in the end? Meanwhile, as the eclipse arrives, Bearclaw tells Darkstar about what had happened throughout those moons...and reveals his inner self.**

**Uploading Date: August 18, 2012**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Day of Dark Sun: The Dark Sun**_

The sun was rising slowly some more in the sky, but the moon had already arrived. It looked as if it was going to swallow the sun up any moment.

_Please, Moonfeather. Help us win this fight!_

Ashfeather looked over to the submarines at the water, guarded by Cajun and six other warriors. The plaza before him was already destroyed, smoking tanks strewn about. FireClan tanks and cats were shooting fire blasts at the caterpillar tanks, which had formed a semi-circle against the plaza wall. The sides flipped open, and EarthBenders lobbed stones at the FireBenders; in fact, some stones were so sharp that they killed their targets. Missiles flew through the air as the EarthBenders' stones and shockwaves destroyed the catapults.

Sighing, Ashfeather turned back to examining a map on the ground behind the tanks, Volefoot and an EarthClan warrior with him. Behind them, Nightfoot shot a rock through the side of the tank just before a fireball collided with into the tank. Ashfeather winced at the explosion; he knew Nightfoot should be more careful.

A meow told them that Silverheart and Emberstar were padding through the plaza's big entrance. Emberstar was limping, still wounded after having lost his fourth life, so Silverheart was beside him, trying to keep him on his paws.

"Dad! You're on your paws again!" Ashfeather yelped at he and Nightfoot ran over to the two cats. As they arrived, Silverheart lowered her father gently to the ground, making him groan a bit in pain.

"I have your sister to thank," Emberstar chuckled weakly. "I'm proud of her for healing without herbs." But his voice went grave as he rasped, "I may be in no shape to fight now, but I could help you somehow."

Ashfeather nodded. "Everything's going good, and the eclipse hasn't even started yet."

Emberstar nodded. "Good. Let's hope our luck holds out...Silverheart? You seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

For Silverheart had stepped away a bit and peered up through the sky with narrowed blue eyes. Answering her father, she mewed, "I'm fine, but...is that Goldwing?"

"HUH?" Ashfeather yelped, looking up to the sky too.

And sure enough, there he was. The golden Avatar Cat was gliding towards them, dodging the numerous fireballs launched towards the invaders. He landed on all four paws in front of his friends, but his dark gray eyes were hard to read.

"Goldwing!" Ashfeather cried as his sister went over to hug him. "_Please_ tell you're here because Darkstar was actually a pussy and you didn't even need the eclipse to beat him?"

"He wasn't home," Goldwing sighed. "No one was, not even the prey. The entire palace city is abandoned."

Ashfeather didn't know what to say about that. But then...he realized something. FireClan must have discovered this part of the information some time ago. There was only one explanation to all of this.

"...they _knew_."

Goldwing nodded and hung his head. "It's over. The invasion is a failure. Darkstar may be long gone by now. Far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."

But Ashfeather refused to give up. If there was one thing he prided himself in, it was never to give up. So he answered, "No. My instincts tell me he won't go too far. He would need to have a secret foxhole. Somewhere he could go so it'll be safe during an attack but still be close enough to lead his Clan."

"If it's an underground secret foxhole we're looking for, I'm the cat to find it," Nightfoot spoke up proudly, her milky pale green eyes shining brightly.

Ashfeather nodded and pulled out a small device resembling a pocket watch from his bag. It ticked, and there was a dial and notches on one section of it. The young WaterClan warrior reminded himself to thank the Scientist for creating this device.

"The Scientist gave me this timing device," he meowed. "It looks like we got around ten minutes before the full eclipse arrives. Ten minutes to find Darkstar."

"We can still do this," Goldwing meowed quietly, nodding slightly. "We can still seize the day."

"Wait."

Ashfeather turned around to see what Silverheart had to say. The pretty silver tabby she-cat had a worried look as she explained, "If they knew we were coming, it could be a trap. Shouldn't we use the remaining time to get out of here safely? Just in case it goes wrong?"

"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything," Emberstar told her. "Even their lives. They know what's at stake here, and they're willing to take it. If there's a chance and some hope, I think they would want for Goldwing to go for it."

Ashfeather gave his father a mew of thanks before turning to Goldwing. "So what do you think, buddy? You're the one who has to fight Darkstar. Whatever you decide, I'm with you. We're in this together until the end."

Goldwing gave him a small smile, remembering when they had said these exact words when they were apprentices. Finally, he faced the battlefield and murmured, "I gotta try."

**...**

The three cats did not stop to hunt for anything, for they had a mission to do. Thanks to his friends beside him, Goldwing was now more than willing to fight Darkstar. So Archie was flying towards the top of the volcano where the capital city for FireClan rested. He landed on the side, and Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot jumped off him and to the ground.

As soon as they landed, Nightfoot began sniffing the ground and laying her paw on different spots. A few seconds passed before Goldwing asked, "Do you feel anything down there?"

"Yep," Nightfoot replied, her ear now to the ground. "There's some natural tunnels intersecting through the inside of the volcano."

"Anything else down there?" Ashfeather spoke up. "Is there a structure somewhere?"

Nightfoot lifted her paw to let her claws slide out before plunging them into the ground, gripping the earth with her claws. Finally, she mewed, "There's something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the volcano's pit."

Ashfeather nodded. "Huh. That sure sounds like a secret foxhole."

So Nightfoot rose up to her hind paws and slammed them down, Bending a hole into the side of the volcano. From behind the headpiece of Archie's armor, Tobias chirped and curiously stuck his head out to see what was up.

"Stay safe," Goldwing told his pets firmly. "We'll be back soon."

As soon as the hole was large enough, the three cats slipped through the hole.

They had arrived in a dark tunnel, unable to see anything just yet. Nightfoot sniffed the air and felt the ground before racing down one side of the tunnel. Knowing she caught up on something, Goldwing and Ashfeather followed her.

"This way!" the black she-cat called, running past them. "That one's a dead end!"

"Thank StarClan for your other four senses!" Ashfeather cheered. "What would we ever do without you?"

Nightfoot shrugged as she slowed down. "I dunno. Maybe perish and burn in hot magma."

They padded past a small stream of lava, and Ashfeather flinched away from it. Goldwing could recall when they last saw lava: when they had to fight a volcano during leaf-bare.

"Yeah, you're right," Ashfeather was mewing. "We'd pretty much die."

After some more walking, they arrived at a cavern filled with active lava vents all over the floor. It could be a trap, but they had to try. Nightfoot started to feel the ground again, and once she was done, she lifted her head.

"The tunnel continues on the other side and leads straight to the foxhole," the blind she-cat reported.

"Good," Ashfeather meowed. "Okay, guys, we'll have to be fast. Fast...but careful."

The dark gray tabby attempted to run across, but he was immediately stopped by one of the vents erupting. He yowled in surprise and shielded himself just as Goldwing whirled his new staff at it, Bending a gust of wind and cooling down the lava. As that was done, he heard Ashfeather sigh before turning to give him an irate glare.

"How the hell was _that_ being careful?" he scolded the WaterClan warrior.

Ashfeather rolled his eyes. "Fine. I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful...and lucky."

So after counting to three, the three cats ran across the hollow. They were carefully dodging the steam and lava coming from the vents. Goldwing swore he had never moved so fast in quite a while, leaping this way and that. But when they arrived at a new area covered in a red glow, they all stopped and looked on in dismayed.

From a small cliff, they were now standing above a large river of lava. They were plenty of fox-lengths away from getting over to the secret fox-hole.

"Shit! There's no floor!" Ashfeather hissed. "It's just a river of lava! Now what do we do?"

But Goldwing knew what to do. What he planned to do was something he had done before when he was an apprentice. So he spun his staff about and extended the blue glider wings.

"You two hop on and hold on tight," he commanded.

Ashfeather and Nightfoot shared a worried glance, but they did as they were told. Now they were on the wings of the glider, and Goldwing backed up a bit before leaping off, soaring through the lava tunnel. While the other two cats shrieked, he steered from the left to the right, avoiding a stone column and a lava explosion. Thanking StarClan, Goldwing easily landed on the other side, and the other cats got off before continuing on foot.

They didn't have that much farther to go before they finally arrived. They ran up to a large metal foxhole built against the cavern wall, staring up in awe.

"Great StarClan!" Ashfeather gasped. "That's some door!"

Nightfoot padded up to the door, placed her ear against it, and knocked on it, producing a metallic thud. Smiling, she stepped back.

"Metal door? Not a problem," she purred.

After she had backed up, she ran at the door and sank her claws into the door, fracturing and denting it. She leapt back, licked her middle and index claws, and weightily gored them through the middle of the door. Using her back paws, she kicked a hole through the metal, widening the opening and stepping through. Then she lifted her nose into the air and took off, the two toms following her quickly.

And as they ran, Ashfeather crowed, "Thank StarClan we added you to our pack!"

**...**

Back at the FireClan capital, the invasion forces were making their way up the path towards the top. Three caterpillar tanks and a legion of warriors were bravely moving up the path even while fireballs were flung at them. A FireBender from a tower threw fireballs from it, one hitting the metal shields the EarthBenders were carrying over their heads. The Boulder and The Warthog ran towards the cliff-side under the battle tower, slapped their paws and hooves against it, and EarthBended an avalanche, demolishing it. The same was done to another tower.

Just in time, a mottled tabby cat turned around and looked at the sky. The moon was slowly starting to move over the sun.

"Retreat!" the cat yowled. "Everyone move to tributary defensive position! Retreat!"

But as he yowled this, the battle tower behind him tipped over and falls over. Three FireBenders fled as three caterpillar tanks drew close to them. Silverheart looked over at Volefoot hanging on to the back of one of the tanks, addressing the other warriors.

"The eclipse is only minutes away!" the WaterClan deputy yowled. "We can make it up the hill by the time it starts and secure the entire palace by the time it's finished!"

All the warrior cats (WaterClan or EarthClan) gave a hearty battle cry and rushed forward. Seeing her father stagger a little bit, Silverheart padded over and steadied his weight over her shoulder.

"We can wait here if you want, Dad," she meowed.

Emberstar shook his head. "No. I want to go on with the other warriors."

So the two cats marched forth, but Silverheart did not want to force her father to run. Instead, she continued steadying him, making sure he did not fall. She looked up to the sky and silently prayed for StarClan to bring her friends back safely.

**...**

Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot were now running down a tunnel on the other side that merged with the first one. While they did, they had run past a pale tabby cat whistling a tune just as he came to the end of the wall. Seeing this, he let out a _mrrow_ in shock, alerting the three to his presence.

They turned around and growled at him, Nightfoot stomping the ground and popping a rocking into the air. The pale tabby pressed his back against the wall and crouched low in surrender. And before they could ask him their question, he quickly gave it to them.

"Darkstar's chamber is that way down the hall to the left and up the stairs," he squealed. "You can't miss it!"

The three cats shared glances before stepping in closer to him. Goldwing glared at him intensely before...

"Okay, thanks!" he purred happily.

So they left him, Ashfeather giving him one last dirty look before they ran off. Once they were gone (unknowingly to them), the tabby sighed a sigh of relief, looked from the left to the right to make sure no one saw anything, composed himself, and continued walking and whistling as if nothing happened. But if Goldwing saw that, he didn't mind.

_We're getting closer to Darkstar!_

As they continued running, Ashfeather pulled out the Mechanist's device and checked their time. He mewed, "Only thirty more seconds before the total eclipse arrives."

Finally, they stopped before another large door with a flame symbol on the front and at the top. Goldwing took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking. This was it. This was when he would finally face Darkstar and defeat him. He opened his eyes, getting ready to blast down the doors and fight against the FireClan leader.

"I'm ready," he meowed firmly. "I'm ready to fight Darkstar!"

He picked his staff up and spun it around and forward. Then he blew a blast of air so hard at the door that the door flew off its hinges and clattered loudly on the ground. Once that was out of the way, he leapt into the room, his friends following him.

The room was one big hall supported by thick metal beams on both sides, lit by torchlight. There was a single lonely throne at the end of the hall, a throne Darkstar would lounge on. There was a cat lounging on the throne, but Goldwing was a bit too far away to see who it was. Yet it looked a bit familiar.

But then...it spoke.

"So...looks like you're alive after all."

Goldwing stared on in utter, speechless shock. It was Frostfire, the FireClan deputy that had "killed" him at the catacombs under BoulderClan. He recalled the pain he felt when he felt the lightning course through his body and out of his left hind paw. But why did Frostfire look so...calm at seeing them?

"I knew you survived," the black she-cat meowed calmly, licking at a forepaw. "But oh well. It doesn't matter. I've known about the invasion for moons."

At this, Goldwing shared a shocked look with Ashfeather and Nightfoot. So he was right. They all knew the eclipse would come; that must be why the capital city was empty. But how did she know all of this?

But it didn't matter. They still had to try and fight Frostfire before they fought Darkstar.

**...**

Bearclaw stood in front of a much smaller door within the tunnels, taking a deep breath. He had his broadswords slung on his back, just in case something bad happened. This was it. Now he had to confront his father and tell him about what really happened...and what he was going to do.

"All right, Darkstar," he hissed to himself under his breath. "I'm ready to face you. StarClan give me endurance."

So he slid the door open and padded inside. There were elite senior warriors with spears standing at the front, leering at him. But Bearclaw ignored the leering; instead, he turned to the cat at the back of the room.

It was Darkstar. The large dark tabby was just lapping up some cream when he noticed. When Darkstar lifted his head to look at him, Bearclaw padded over some more until he stood in front of him.

"Bearclaw?" the FireClan leader meowed, sounding curious. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to talk with you."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Silverheart looked up at the moon passing over the sun, covering almost all of it. This was a bit like the Great Battle in the ancient Clans...but this would be a good thing this time. The invasion force was marching on the side of the volcano, WaterClan warriors up in the lead. A tank passed by on the other side as the cats tried not to look at the sun.

"The eclipse is starting!" the Scientist called, turning to the warriors. "Put on your eclipse glasses! If you don't, the sun will hurt your eyes!"

At this, the cream-furred tom took off his monocle and placed an eyeshade with thin openings over his eyes. The warriors stopped marching for a moment and did the same before going on. Behind them, Silverheart and Emberstar had put their eclipse glasses on as they looked towards the sun. The moon had completely blacked out the sun, leaving nothing but a black sphere in the sky.

_This is it! _Silverheart thought. _The eclipse has come at last!_

**...**

"Why are you here?" Darkstar asked his son, eying him with suspicion.

"I'm here to tell the truth," Bearclaw replied. But he didn't feel scared anymore; instead, he felt bravery surge up inside him.

Darkstar had what looked like a sneer on his face. "Telling the truth during an eclipse, eh?" he meowed. "_This_ should be interesting."

He flicked his tail to his warriors, and his they left through doors on both sides of the chamber. Now Bearclaw and Darkstar were alone in the foxhole. It was time to get it all over with.

"First of all..." Bearclaw began. He tripped over the words a bit before he went on, "Back in BoulderClan...I didn't take down the Avatar Cat. It was Frostfire."

"Oh?" Darkstar didn't sound angry. "Why would she lie to me about that?"

Bearclaw meowed, "Because the Avatar Cat is not dead. He survived. He's still alive."

Now Darkstar looked alarmed and angry at the same time. "What?! What did you say?"

"In fact, he's probably leading this invasion now," Bearclaw went on, ignoring what he said. "He could be getting to us at this very minute."

At first, there was only silence. Bearclaw watched his father's broad shoulders shake with rage as he prepared to be attacked at this moment. But like before, he did not get scared.

"Get out!" Darkstar roared, pointing his paw at him. "Get out of my sight right now!"

Bearclaw stood up, facing the dark tabby bravely. "That's another thing, Darkstar. I'm not taking orders from you anymore."

Darkstar's amber eyes were filled with rage and hatred towards his son. "Either you obey me this instant and drop your defiance or I will kill you right where you stand!"

At this, he began to stalk towards him, flames shrouding his unsheathed claws. Ready for this to happen, Bearclaw got into a defensive pose, his claws unsheathed and his broadswords in his jaws.

"Think again!" he spat back. "I _will_ speak my mind, and YOU will listen!"

Darkstar glared at him as if he wanted to ignore this and kill him right there and then. Instead, he gave a growl but sat down anyways, twitching his ears impatiently. Bearclaw thought over on what to say, what he could say to bring Darkstar down.

Then he remembered all the things Irontail had taught him during his exile...and what he himself had learned. Bearclaw had seen all what FireClan had done to the world, how they had become even worse than what Tigerstar had done. Irontail had been right; FireClan had been causing too much pain in the world.

_And...I don't feel any more loyalty to Darkstar..._

**...**

"Where is he?" Goldwing hissed at Frostfire, his claws unsheathing. "Where is Darkstar?"

Frostfire gave him a disdainful glance. "You mean I'm not good enough for you? Oh, you're hurting my feelings!" she added sarcastically.

"Stop the bullshitting and give us the information!" Ashfeather spat. "You're powerless right now thanks to the eclipse! So you're in no position to refuse!"

Nightfoot nodded. "And you better tell the truth. 'Cause I can tell if you're lying."

"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar," Frostfire sneered, her face becoming fully expressionless. "I am a four hundred-foot-tall pink bear with purple horns and white wings."

A few awkward moments passed before Nightfoot mewed, "Wow...you're good, I admit it. But!" she added, Bending the earth underneath the other black she-cat so that it encased her was a conical shape. "You really oughta consider telling the truth."

Frostfire gave the blind she-cat a small smirk before suddenly shattering the stone trap. This made Goldwing and his friends stare at her in total shock. What a move! How had she learned to destroy an earth trap like that? The camera zooms out from her as the stone trap shatters. But Frostfire kept smirking as she shook some rubble off her shoulder as if she had groomed herself.

"When I left BoulderClan, I brought home some souvenirs. Some VERY good souvenirs," she added slyly as two cats dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of her. "The Tai Kwan cats."

Goldwing was still shocked. How did the Tai Kwan cats get to come into FireClan with one of the enemy? But he had no more time to think, for the Tai Kwan cats were looking for a fight.

So Goldwing swung his staff at them, throwing out a blast of wind. Both Tai Kwan cats Bended a stone wall in front and utterly quashed the attack. Behind Goldwing, Ashfeather and Nightfoot were preparing to attack...but Frostfire was staying out of the way. He had no idea why, but he knew she would have to fight sooner or later.

**...**

The invasion force was slowly making its way to the edge of the crater. Volefoot was standing at the edge, yowling out orders while Ashfeather was away and Emberstar was injured. Warriors and two tanks made their way past him and over the edge.

"Surround the border!" the blue-gray tom was yowling. "We have to secure the palace before the eclipse is over! Or else we'll be in for the fight of our lives!"

He made his way down with the rest of them, the scrabbling of his paws sending small pebbles down the hill. The tanks and warriors reached the edge of the capital and made their way in, marking their scents on every building. This was one victory they could not lose.

Just then, a group of FireBenders were found lining themselves up in one of the alleys. As fast as they could, Brindleheart, Brownstone, and a group of EarthBenders came to face them.

"Stop!" Brownstone yowled, and they did. "Surrender peacefully and we won't harm you."

"We'll never surrender," a black-&-brown cat hissed, stepping forward.

Then he started making flailing movements with his paws, dashed forward, and swung his head forth as if to shoot a fireball out of his mouth. But all that was produced was nothing but a very pathetic fizzle.

"...okay. We surrender," the black-&-brown warrior mewled.

He and the other FireBenders bowed down in surrender, letting the EarthClan warriors knock them out. In the meantime, Silverheart and Emberstar were slowly climbing up to the edge of the crater, looking down at the FireClan capital as the warriors and tanks headed to the palace.

"There it is," Emberstar groaned, looking exhausted from the climbing. "The FireClan royal palace…we've come so far."

"It's not over yet," Silverheart gently reminded her father. "We still got some way to go."

Nodding, the two cats slowly made their way down the crater and towards the capital.

**...**

Finding the right words, Bearclaw lifted his head to see how his father was reacting. Darkstar was just glaring down at him with contempt, the same look Tigerstar always had on his face. He did not want to back down...now was the time to start.

"For all my life, all I wanted was you to love me and accept me for who I am...as your son," he began. "I thought it was honor I wanted, but all I wanted was to please you. You, my father, who sent me into exile just for talking out of turn!" he went on, bitter rage filling his voice. "My own _father_, who challenged me, an apprentice almost ready to be a warrior, to an Agni Kai! So how could you possibly justify a duel with your own kit?"

"It was to teach you respect," Darkstar growled, no regret in his voice or stare.

Hearing this, Bearclaw roared, "No it wasn't! It was cruel! And it was wrong!"

Darkstar glared at him with pure hatred. "Then you have learned nothing from your training."

"No, I've learned everything! And I had to learn it on my own," Bearclaw retorted. He could recall all Irontail had taught him...and how much he learned when he went on his own for a while. He had seen what FireClan had done, and he wanted nothing more than to stop it.

So he looked up at his leader and continued, "Growing up, we were taught as apprentices that FireClan was the best Clan in history, and somehow, the Great War was our way of sharing our importance with the rest of the world. What a great lie that was!" he added with a bitter laugh. "The cats of the other Clans are frightened of FireClan! They don't see our greatness; they hate us...and we deserve it. We've created an era of terror in the world. And if we don't want the Clans and the world to destroy themselves, we need to replace this era with an era of peace, harmony, and kindness."

He expected Darkstar to break him back down with sneering remarks on how that was all false. Instead, however, he let out a mocking purr of amusement. "Your Uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?" he chuckled darkly.

"Yes..." Bearclaw sighed, closing his eyes to remember his uncle Irontail. "Yes he has."

When he opened his eyes, Darkstar only glared down at him in disapproval. But Bearclaw stood his ground. Gone were the days when he would cower under Darkstar's shadow. Now...maybe the Avatar Cat could knock some sense into this evil monster.

**...**

The stone wall exploded as Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot tried to fight off the Tai Kwan cats. A stone structure erupted from the floor where Goldwing was standing, but he leapt away from it and jumped off one of the metal beams and flipped forward. Both Tai Kwan cats pulled two slabs from the ground and flung them at Goldwing, but he deflected them with two kicks. Nightfoot burst through the stone behind him, creating a hole. She leapt in between the agents and Bended two pillars of stone up from beneath them as she landed, pushing them towards the walls. The agents both landed of the walls and Bended a mast of stone down at Nightfoot, who blocked the attacks by Bending two stone walls up from the floor.

Then Nightfoot swiped her paws forward and Bended a stream of earth at Frostfire, crashing into her. The stream of earth pushed her up into the air, but she leapt away from the attack and flew back towards the throne, smirking as she landed.

"Great StarClan," Goldwing muttered to himself. "She's impossible!"

He ran towards the black she-cat, spinning around as he started using the Battouga, his signature attack. But then he suddenly stopped when he heard a loud grinding sound. One of the Tai Kwan cats was sliding over the side of the wall and past Goldwing, then he hurled himself off the wall and in front of him with a pillar of earth, putting himself in front of Frostfire. He sank into the floor as he landed and Bended a large wall of stone of from the floor. So Goldwing leapt high into the air, spun forward, and burst through the wall with his forepaws.

He landed behind the Tai Kwan cat, popping him into the air as he landed with one small pillar of stone and knocking him away with a larger one, knocking the cat out of the fight. One time, he had gotten a scratch on his cheek, but he ignored it. Goldwing spun his staff above his head, letting go as he turned forward, winded up, and shot a powerful blast of air at Frostfire.

Frostfire leapt onto the arms of the throne and leapt away just before the throne was destroyed by the air blast. Goldwing ran over to where she was and swung his staff at her, Bending a blade of air. The black she-cat leapt between two metal beams, jumping over the blade of air and at the beam, then she leapt off one back towards the beam behind her. Then she landed on the side of the beam just before leaping away as another blade of air barely missed her.

As she landed on the ground, she turned tail and ran off. Furiously, Goldwing chased her as he saw her running behind the metal beams. She jumped onto and jumped off a beam just as he sent another blade of air at her. Frostfire continued running forward and hopping from the wall to the beams and up to one of the stone beams. Goldwing kicked off the stone beam and spun at her with the Battouga, but she leapt out of the way as she slid down the stone beam. She leapt off the diagonal wall to block the attack earlier and landed on the other one before jumping off and landing on the floor.

Then Frostfire turned about to sneer at Goldwing and hissed "What's the matter? Aren't you going to fight?"

"Oh we will," Goldwing muttered back.

At that, he and Nightfoot leapt at her. Frostfire spun around and ran towards the large stone wall, the two Tai Kwan cats behind her. They landed behind her and then Bended a pillar up from under her, sending their leader into the air towards the hole in the wall that Nightfoot made. Just as Ashfeather was climbing through, Frostfire flew towards him, passing just inches above him as she smirked down at him. In response, he looked back at her fearfully.

Then Frostfire landed on the other side of the wall and ran towards the exit. Ashfeather began to climb back out, but he ducked as the Tai Kwan cats, Nightfoot, and Goldwing sprang over him and through the hole, one at a time. Then as he watched them go, he got back down and sprinted after them. Finally, Goldwing caught up with her and caught her, slamming her down by her shoulders, as he clawed at her swipes.

"I can't pin her down!" Goldwing panted, blood blocking some of his vision. "She's too quick!"

Frostfire swiped at his face with her claws, kicked him away, and ran off. As Nightfoot ran to the side, they saw Frostfire loping out the door, a Tai Kwan cat sliding out of the room and blocking the entrance with a large stone. He slid over the ground and after Frostfire just as Goldwing burst through the stone and continued chasing them. Suddenly, the Tai Kwan cat was knocked to the side by a stone pillar ejecting out of the side of the wall. A hole opened in the side of the wall, and Nightfoot sprinted out of it. The cat hit the inside of the groove of a steel beam supporting the tunnel and tried to attack, but Nightfoot smashed his stone paws into dust before grabbing both of the beam's grooves and pulling them in, trapping the cat.

Thanking her, Goldwing ran on ahead, and Nightfoot followed. They were almost there (for they were following the blood trail) as they panted. Victory was near...

"No!" Ashfeather's voice made all three cats look around. "Guys, stop attacking! Don't you see what she's doing? She's just toying with us, making us get distracted. She's not even trying to win this fight!"

"Not true," Frostfire yawned in a bored tone. "I AM giving it my all."

But Nightfoot spat, "You're just trying to keep us here and waste all our time, aren't you!"

Frostfire glared at the other black she-cat. "I think your friend just said that, genius. And since you can't see, I'm rolling my eyes right now."

"I'll roll your whole damn head!" Nightfoot snapped back.

But Ashfeather meowed, "Nightfoot, don't. She's just baiting you again."

"Okay, so what do we do?" Goldwing asked, glaring at the dark gray tabby. "Just ignore her?"

"What other choice do we have?" Ashfeather replied back. "We just have to get out of here and find Darkstar on our own come hell or high water."

So all three cats panted (Nightfoot was bleeding steadily from her shoulder) and turned away from Frostfire. Ignoring the disdainful look in her golden eyes, they started to pad away.

"It's a trap. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Hearing this, Goldwing and Nightfoot turned back to see Frostfire still looking over at them. _What did she mean by that?_ Goldwing thought.

Ashfeather, who was still padding away, held his tail up in a gesture of dismissal. "Ignoring! Ignoring!"

**(Author's Note: Got that from Squidward, folks.)**

Frostfire glared after him, but she meowed in a slightly bored voice, "So...you're Ashfeather, right? My favorite prisoner used to talk about you all the time. She's a red tabby cat with green eyes." Then as Ashfeather stopped and turned around, she went on with a sneer, "She was told that you were going to come and rescue her. But...you never came, and she gave up on you. I'm sure she doesn't want you now."

Goldwing heard a small groan as he looked over at Ashfeather. His pale blue eyes were shiny with tears as he turned slightly away; he knew how much Echo In Quiet Storm meant to him. And then...he let out a roar of rage as he leapt at Frostfire, who merely smirked.

"Come and get it..." she muttered, malice dripping in her voice.

But as Ashfeather leapt forth, Goldwing froze as Frostfire unsheathed her claws...but the claws weren't ordinary. Instead, they were ornate blades slipped over her regular claws. A gasp from Nightfoot told Goldwing that she had sensed this, for she raised a stone into the air and shot it forth with a thrust of her paw.

Soon enough, Frostfire was pinned by her scruff against the wall by the stone, blood pouring from where she was pierced. The black she-cat grunted in pain as she hit the wall, but Ashfeather didn't seem to care. Instead, he seized her by the shoulders, pushed her up against the wall, and glared into her eyes with hatred.

"Where...is...ECHO?!" he roared.

**...**

"After I leave today..." Bearclaw went on, "...I'm gonna go free Uncle Irontail from his prison, and I'm going to ask for his forgiveness. He's the one who's been a real father to me. More than _you_ ever were."

He realized that this was true. He even recalled Irontail telling him that he thought of the young tabby like his own son. It was because Irontail's own son, Wolfcloud, had been killed in battle; that was why the old gray tabby stuck with him. But then he recalled how he betrayed him back in BoulderClan.

_Uncle...I'm so sorry._

After hearing this, Darkstar began to chuckle sarcastically. "That's just beautiful. Maybe he can teach you the ways of cream and disaster."

"But I've come to an even more important decision." Bearclaw remembered hearing Silverheart talk about the Avatar Cat being the one to save the world. So he looked up again and meowed bravely, "I'm going to find the Avatar Cat...and join him. And I'm going to help him defeat you."

He had done it. He was now walking down the path of righteousness. Bearclaw expected his father to roar at him for doing so, scar him again...or even kill him. However, he merely grinned slyly.

"Really? So you're a traitor to your Clan and want me gone," he snickered. "Why wait? I'm powerless thanks to the eclipse, and you've got your...you call those swords? So why don't you just kill me right here and now?"

Bearclaw shook his head with no hesitation. "Because that's not my destiny. I know my destiny, and it's to help the Avatar Cat defeat you. And defeating you is HIS destiny. Goodbye, Darkstar. May StarClan judge you on what you do...and what you've done."

At this, he turned away from his father and started to pad away. He had no idea that becoming a good cat felt...as right as this. But now he was no longer a FireClan cat...willingly this time.

"Coward!" Darkstar roared after him. "You think you can face me but you'll only do it during an eclipse? If you have any _real_ courage or were a true warrior, you'll wait until the sun comes out. Besides..." he added with a jeer. "Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

This sentence made Bearclaw come to a halt in front of the doors and turn around. Darkstar was glaring over at his son, his amber eyes glittering as he sneered at him venomously. Wanting to hear some more about what happened to Bearheart, he started to pad back to his father.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Sighing, Bearclaw asked, "What happened that night?"

"My father, Thistlestar, told me to kill you, my own son. And I _was_ going to do it, for you were and still are an insignificant insect," he added with hatred. "But your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost, which was pathetic. She knew I wanted to become the leader and proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become the leader and you would live."

Bearclaw narrowed his eyes, going back to when Frostfire had taunted him about Darkstar killing him. That was all true...and Darkstar really wanted him dead. There was no doubt about it: his father was a truly terrible cat.

_But I have to hear more._

**...**

"Where is she?!" Ashfeather roared in Frostfire's face, glaring at her. "Answer me!"

But the smirk on Frostfire's face told Goldwing that she would not cooperate. So he padded forth and gently pulled the WaterClan warrior away from her, making him glare at the golden-furred tom.

"She won't talk, Ashfeather. Just let her go."

Ashfeather paused...before rushing back to the pinned FireClan cat. "Where are you keeping her?! Answer me, you bitch!"

Yet she went on with smirking. Goldwing knew that the longer they stayed, the sooner the eclipse would end. If the eclipse ended, then the battle would be lost, and the entire invasion would be all for nothing.

**...**

"Your mother did vicious traitorous things that night," Darkstar went on with a sneer. "She knew the costs of breaking the Warrior Code, and yet she accepted them. So when she did what she did, I became the leader. And for her treason, I banished her from the Clan, never to return."

"So...s-she's still alive?" Bearclaw asked, a tear forming around his scarred eye.

Darkstar just replied, "Perhaps. Now I realize that exile is far too generous a price for treason. Your punishment will be far harsher. I shall kill you where you stand RIGHT NOW!"

Then he stepped forth and swinging his tail around, creating two arcs of electricity from the tip. He flicked his tail forward and fired an incredible bolt of lightning at his own son, who prepared himself for the blast.

Remembering Irontail training him in this, Bearclaw held his paw up and caught the lightning with the tips of his claws. He slid back from the force of the attack, the lightning surrounding his body and making his shaggy dark fur stand on end. Bearclaw sunk his body down and waved his tail about as the electricity ran through his body, and then he sliced forth with his other forepaw, redirecting the lightning in Darkstar's direction. The bolt struck the ground where the large dark tabby was standing, creating an explosion that knocked him against the wall and the drapery behind him.

As soon as he saw his father straightening up, his head fur falling over his face, Bearclaw leapt away. He was a rogue now, but he didn't care. His mother was still alive, Irontail was probably still alive in prison, and he was going to join the Avatar Cat.

And when he got outside, he saw why Darkstar Bended lightning at him. The eclipse was over, the moon finally passing past the sun.

**...**

"Oh, did you hear that?" Frostfire sneered. "The FireBending's back on."

Thus, she kicked her leg upward and created an arc of blue fire, making Ashfeather leap back in surprise. She lashed her paw forward and shot a fireball at the dark gray tabby, but he was saved from the attack by Nightfoot, who grabbed his scruff and pulled him out of the way. Frostfire began to wriggle some more on the wall, straining herself to break free. She grinned as the rock trapping her there exploded in a blue flame before she sprung off the wall towards Goldwing and flipped forward. Goldwing got out of the way just as Frostfire landed with a fiery claw swipe at where he was standing.

Goldwing, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot got prepared for another attack, but no attack came. Instead, Frostfire stood up straight and turned to them.

"If you must know..." she meowed, "...my father's all the way at the end of the hall and down the secret stairway on the left. I'm _sure_ he'll be happy to see you now."

At this, she spun around and sped down the tunnel. Goldwing stared after where she left before Ashfeather hung his head, his eyes full of shame.

"Shit!" he hissed, his claws sinking into the ground. "I fell for it! I wasted our time!"

"It's not your fault," Nightfoot reassured him. "Frostfire was ready for us. She had every move planned out."

But Ashfeather didn't look reassured. "But now it's too late."

"Maybe not," Goldwing meowed. "The eclipse may be over now, but I can still fight Darkstar anyway."

"No." This time, Ashfeather had spoken, much to Goldwing's surprise. "I don't think that's a good idea now. I think we should just retreat."

Shocked to hear his determined friend say this, Goldwing insisted, "But...no! I'm ready! I came here with a mission to do, and everyone's counting on me!"

Nightfoot shook her head. "Darkstar knew we were coming this time. We thought we had the element of surprise on our side...but we didn't. It just wasn't our day. What we need to do now is go help our friends out."

Goldwing knew he did want to beat Darkstar, but his friends were more important. He did not want them to die just because of a duty he had to do.

"...I guess you're right."

"You'll have another chance one day," Ashfeather reassured him, laying his tail on his shoulder. "I know you will."

Goldwing nodded before following his friends on their way out of the tunnels.

**...**

Silverheart gently laid her father against one of the tanks as they both took off their eclipse glasses. Inside, Silverheart silently wished for her friends to hurry back, for things were looking a bit bleak by now. Plenty of warriors on their side had been killed...though their closest allies were thankfully spared. But FireClan had also lost their warriors...thanks to inventions, claws, fangs, or Bending.

When she looked up, Volefoot was padding forward, panting. Several more claw marks were on his body, covered entirely in blood. Some were fresh while others had been dried.

"Emberstar, what should we do?" the deputy panted. "Shouldn't something have happened by now?"

"I don't know," Emberstar groaned, licking at a wound on his shoulder. "But now the eclipse is over. I think we'll be seeing some FireBenders in any minute."

Suddenly, Volefoot looked up to the sky, his green eyes wide in shock. Silverheart followed his gaze, and when she saw what it was, she felt her pelt bristle in fear and her eyes widen. Five FireClan war balloons were floating up into the air and towards them. FireBenders were in the balloons, quickly overpowering the invasion.

"My own invention..." the Scientist mewled, his remaining eye filled with dread. "Oh, this is terrible! A terrible day for the Clans!"

Beside him, Gray-limp silently laid a reassuring paw on his father's shoulder. But what they saw next was horrifying: behind the war balloons ascended an enormous zeppelin. Everyone stared up in horror at the five war balloons along with five huge zeppelins decorated with designs of a griffin.

Just as things were going to get worse, Silverheart saw something that made her spirits lift a bit. Archie was flying down towards them from the sky...and Goldwing and the others were safe on his back.

"They're back!" she called, letting the other cats know.

**(Author's Note: Once again, changing POVs.)**

Goldwing looked up at the war balloons, worried at what he was seeing before him. He had no idea these machines were going to come; he thought there were just going to be war tanks and the other stuff. But these new ones...they were a bit like the ones the Scientist had used. He had even remembered that the cream-furred loner once unwillingly made machines for FireClan.

He looked down to see Silverheart running over to him in joy. In spite of seeing her unharmed other than a cut on a foreleg, he couldn't help but look down at her uneasily. Goldwing had no idea what he was going to say to her about Darkstar not appearing.

"It was a trap," Ashfeather hissed, still sounding angry about Echo being held prisoner. "Also, Frostfire knew we were coming, and she plotted out every move we make." He and Nightfoot leapt down from Archie and went on, "We have to get to the beach as fast as we can. If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can retreat safely."

"They've got air power, but so do I!" Goldwing retorted, glaring up at the zeppelins. So he opened his glider and meowed, "I'm gonna do all I can to slow them down."

So he tossed his glider into the air and leapt up, making sure the straps went around his chest and his legs. When the glider was safely on his body, he took off towards the zeppelins, determined to slow the machines down and let his friends leave in peace.

Behind him, he could hear Archie growl and Silverheart meow, "Don't worry, Archie. You and I can help too."

Goldwing smiled in her direction...but just a tiny bit. He was thankful for her helping him...but they could die in this mission.

"Everyone!" Ashfeather was yowling to the warriors. "Let's go! Back to the subs!"

Once they were away, Goldwing, Silverheart, and Archie continued flying ahead, dodging some seabirds that had come to feast on the bodies of dead warriors. Up ahead, a warrior FireBender shot two fireballs at Goldwing, who steered and rolled to avoid the attack. He then threw his glider up, spun in circles towards the aerial machines, and pierced straight through the fabric of the balloon with his fangs and claws. As he got his glider back and flew towards the zeppelins, air leaked from the war balloon, and it went down.

Behind him, Silverheart was standing up in Archie's saddle and Bended the water out from two flasks. With a swift rotation of her forelegs and body, the silver tabby she-cat sliced a clean and horizontal cut through the balloon. After a brief moment, the top of the war balloon fluttered away, and the bottom part dropped.

Once those few machines were done, the three of them flew up towards the zeppelins. Tons of large fireballs were being shot at them; a few fireballs hit Archie, and he growled in discomfort, but his armor protected him from the burns. The Asian Lung dragon tried to fly in close, but he was driven back by the force of the fire blasts. As Archie flew past a zeppelin, some FireBenders standing on small platforms under the body shot fire blasts at him, but Silverheart created a water shield to block the oncoming fireballs.

"We can't keep them all at bay!" she called up to Goldwing. "There're too many of them!"

"All right!" Goldwing called back, barely dodging another fireball. "Let's go back and join the others!"

**...**

The FireClan prison was the place that Bearclaw needed to get to. But what he saw was strange indeed: multiple craters in the stone wall and stairs littered the area. The former FireClan warrior wondered how that happened; he supposed a cannonball had done it, but the craters were a bit too smooth for a cannonball. So he ran inside the prison, making sure to keep sharp about the scents in there.

When he made it inside, Bearclaw began to sniff the area. When he got to where Irontail was held captive, he saw a guard, who was lying down on the floor. The cat looked up and then winced as Bearclaw ran past. The dark brown tabby tom ran down the hall and towards an open doorway, which he leapt through.

"Uncle!" he yowled, arriving at the spot. But what he saw sent him into complete shock.

There was a huge hole in the cage, and the surrounding bars were bents outward. Whatever had arrived must have fought with Irontail and fled. So he turned to the ginger tabby Warden Poon lying on the floor, dazed. He ran over and leapt on top of the warrior, pinning him down on the floor so that he wouldn't squirm free.

"Where is he?" he snarled, pressing his paws onto the Warden's throat. "Where is my uncle?"

"He's gone. He busted out," the ginger tabby Warden Poon rasped. "I... I've never seen anything like that before! T-The old bastard was like a...like a one-cat army!"

Bearclaw glared down at him, but he let the ginger cat go anyways. After he carefully padded through the hallway, he quickly ran over to where the zeppelins were at. Irontail was not there to guide him now...but maybe the Avatar Cat could. If he could join his pack, then he could learn from the young golden cat.

_Please guide me through this, Mother. And you too, Uncle Irontail...wherever you're at now._

**...**

As Goldwing flew on with Archie beside him, he looked down to see Ashfeather running down the slope towards the plaza, the others following behind. The dark gray tabby tom stopped and looked up while the zeppelins high in the air were slowing making their way towards them. Just as the three of them landed, Ashfeather ran over to them, panting breathlessly.

"Try and find some cover!" he wheezed. "I think we're about to see some bombs any minute!"

So everyone huddled together while Nightfoot Bended a large slab of stone above them. When she did, large red cylinder-shaped bombs dropped from above, hitting the ground and exploding. But some of the bombs merely bounced off the stone shields protecting the invasion forces. Yet the slab cracked and began to fall, but Nightfoot Bended two stone supports up from the ground to keep it standing.

Up ahead, the cats saw the caterpillar tanks quickly making their way down the slope as bombs went off all around them. They saw The Boulder, The Warthog, and a few other EarthBenders being knocked off balance by the explosions. As that happened...the war zeppelins over, ceasing the raid. All four cats of AvatarClan crept out from under the stone, looking up at the zeppelins as they flew towards the beach.

"Why aren't they trying to attack us again?" Silverheart wondered.

But Goldwing now knew why. "They're headed for the beach...they're going to destroy the submarines!"

"Dammit!" Ashfeather howled, looking dismayed. "How are we all gonna escape?"

"We're not." Emberstar was beside them, looking worn out and quite sad.

Ashfeather nodded. "Then we have to stand and fight. We have Goldwing with us. We could still win this battle!"

However, Emberstar was not finished. "Yes, with Goldwing, we could still win...on another day. As for you, you have to leave. You have to escape on Archie together."

"What?" Silverheart looked dismayed. "No! We can't leave you behind! We won't leave _anyone_ behind!"

"You are our only chance in a long run," her father replied. "You and your brother have to go with Goldwing and Nightfoot to somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive."

Goldwing frowned slightly when he saw the pained looks on his friends' faces. He knew how much being with their father meant to them, especially ever since their mother was killed. But being separated quickly again would be too much for them to bear.

"The youngest of our troop should go with you," Volefoot added, looking up from licking an injured paw. "The adults will stay and surrender. We'll be prisoners, yes, but we'll all survive this."

"I've got experience with FireClan prisons," Brownstone added, memories in his amber eyes. "It won't be easy, but we'll live through it."

"They're at the beach already!"

All the cats in the area turned to the submarines and the swamp cats as the shadow of a zeppelin passed over. The zeppelins flew overhead and began to drop more bombs. Bloat and Skunk were Bending water from the ocean, swinging their forepaws in windmill motions to send the water into the air and intercept the bombs. The bombs exploded in midair as Cajun's seaweed monster grabbed two oncoming bombs with his seaweed arms. He tossed one away, but the other bomb exploded, destroying the arm of the seaweed creature. Another bomb lodged itself deep inside the body of the creature and exploded, destroying it.

The seaweed fell on top of all three swamp cats, but they stuck their heads out from the pile of steaming seaweed. Beyond them, bombs everywhere were falling on the submarines. One by one, they exploded and were destroyed, bodies of killed cats flying out and landing in the dark red blood-stained water. The smoke cleared, and they saw the destroyed submarines from above as they burned away.

Goldwing and his friends watched on with horror and despair. The invasion was a complete failure. There was no advantage, no victory, and no honor in this fight. Ashfeather closed his pale blue eyes and reluctantly nodded, accepting the turn of events.

_We have to flee, _Goldwing realized. _But was it all worth it?_

**...**

As they all got prepared to leave, Goldwing watched from on Archie's head, laying down with his head on his paws. Nightfoot and the Scientist, who was carrying Gray-limp, rose up onto Archie's back on a platform of stone built by Nightfoot. The black she-cat leapt into the saddle while the Scientist laid his son down gently into it, hugging him in farewell.

"Goodbye, son," the loner rasped, tears leaking out his remaining eye. "I hope we get to see each other again soon."

"Bye, Dad," Gray-limp purred sadly as he allowed his father to lick his ears lovingly. "I'm really proud of you."

Nightfoot gave the pair a look of sympathy before lowering the Scientist back to the ground. He took one last look at his son and looked away, his head low. Next to them, The Dude was trying to climb onto Archie's head, but he was still too small for anything bigger than him. With a sad look on his face, Tiny bent his huge head down and let his friend climb on, helping him up.

"I'll miss you, Tiny," The Dude squeaked.

"You too, The Dude," the huge ginger-&-white tom meowed back. "Take care."

As The Dude climbed back onto Archie's head successfully this time, Goldwing turned to see another heart wrenching goodbye. Brindleheart and Brownstone was also saying goodbye.

"I'll be back for you Dad," Brindleheart was mewing. "I promise."

"If we don't escape on our own first," Brownstone tried to chuckle as he and his son hugged and bowed to each other. But Goldwing knew the big tabby tom's voice was strained with sadness at being separated from his son. He knew what that felt like; when he was a kit, he had been taken away from his parents for training. Now seeing this...he felt their pain like he was their kin.

And last of all, Emberstar was saying farewell to Ashfeather and Silverheart. Tears were leaking down their faces as they were ready to split off...once again.

"We lost this battle today, but we've never been this close," Emberstar was telling his kits. "We tasted victory, and that counts for something. We're getting closer."

The two nodded before Silverheart laid her head on her father's shoulder. "We'll miss you Dad."

Ashfeather nodded the same with her as he also laid his head on Emberstar's broad shoulders. He rasped, "Goodbye, Dad. We won't be apart for too long this time...I promise."

Goldwing lowered his head even more and sighed, Tobias sitting next to him. He knew these cats would not see their parents for so long, for they could die in prison. The golden-furred tom felt like some of it was his fault, but he shook his head, berating himself for this. He felt tears leak down his cheeks and soak at his paws while Tobias looked over at him.

Silverheart leapt up to beside him and laid a gently paw on his lean shoulder while he saw her smile weakly to him. He looked over into her beautiful face, wanting to cheer up, but he could not be cheered up. Ignoring the saddened look on her face, he turned away and wiped the tears from his eyes before standing up and addressing the invasion force.

"Cats of WaterClan and EarthClan. Thank you all for being so brave and so strong," he meowed loudly. "You are all brave and powerful warriors, and StarClan blesses you all for what you have done today. As for me, I'll make this up to you. I promise."

Then he sat down while Tobias landed on his shoulder. Goldwing gave the command for Archie to lift off, and the dragon lifted himself off and flew off into the distance. Both Silverheart and Ashfeather were looking back, sadness in their blue eyes. It would be a long while until all the cats on the saddle were reunited with their families.

Goldwing's fur bristled when they flew past a zeppelin flying slowly in the air. Frostfire and a warrior were watching them leave, their gazes never leaving them.

"Should we follow them, deputy?" the tabby cat asked.

"No. They'll be long gone," the black she-cat hissed. "But they'll be back. This I swear by."

Turning away from this, Goldwing turned to his pack. "I know a good place for us to go where we'll be safe for a while," he meowed. "It's the Western AirClan camp. We'll be okay there."

_StarClan willing, _he prayed silently as they flew off through the clouds.

Little did they know that they were being followed...

**...**

The white dragon was very familiar to Bearclaw; he had even tried to catch him in BoulderClan. He was now leaving FireClan for now...and he promised himself he would not return to home until he helped the Avatar Cat. Irontail would approve of this; it would be what he wanted in the first place.

The wind ruffled through his fur as his war balloon flew on through the clouds, following the Avatar Cat and his pack. Nothing would stop him from fulfilling his destiny: helping his former enemy, the Avatar Cat, defeat Darkstar.

_You hear me, Darkstar? I am NOT nothing! And Avatar Cat? I'm coming for you...and I'll help you save the Clans!_

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Aang: So in our world, Ozai actually tried to kill Zuko? Twice?**

**Katara: Seems like it. But anyways, I'm happy we got these two chapters out of the way! What about you, Avatar Cat?**

**AvatarCat12: You bet! Rest of the series, here we come!**

**Katara: And since Aang was so brave that day, can he say the review thing and the preview for The Western AirClan Camp? (AvatarCat12 nods)**

**Aang: Thanks! (To the readers) You're all very welcome to read and review if you want! We don't allow flames on here or any other story, but we welcome advice and constructive criticism. And by the way, those who review will get a virtual Bearclaw figurine or plush doll. That or those of Darkstar or Frostfire.**

**Preview: Since the invasion was a failure, Goldwing and his friends have moved on to the Western AirClan camp, where they have some more mouths to feed. And while there, they decide on doing something they should have done moons ago. Meanwhile, Bearclaw wants to show AvatarClan that he has changed and wants to join them. But will they accept him? Or will they not look past what he had done in the past?**

**All three: See ya next time!**


	12. The Western AirClan Camp

**AvatarCat12: Today, Aang and Katara won't be here for the next chapter. So instead, Zuko is here again to help out with the commentaries.**

**Zuko: Good to see you again, Avatar Cat. And I heard you might go to Pennsylvania and live there for a few months. Is that true?**

**AvatarCat12: My mom's working on it, but yeah. But don't worry; there's still Internet up there, so I'll try my best and write some stories.**

**Zuko: That's good. If you don't mind, I'll go ahead and say the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 owns neither series. He's blended them together for all of you to enjoy.**

**Summary: ****Since the invasion was a failure, Goldwing and his friends have moved on to the Western AirClan camp, where they have some more mouths to feed. And while there, after the invasion, the Avatar Cat wants to escape his duties again. Meanwhile, Bearclaw wants to show AvatarClan that he has changed and wants to join them. But will they accept him? Or will they not look past what he had done in the past?**

**Uploading Date: August 24, 2012**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Western AirClan Camp**_

Archie was still in his armor from the invasion; Goldwing had forgotten to take it off of him. He and the pack were walking slowly on a rocky and barren wasteland with the sun blazing down on their heads. Nightfoot was holding her head down, marching slowly along with Brindleheart and Ashfeather walking behind her with their eyes closed. Goldwing himself was walking groggily with Tobias resting on his head with a similar look. Gray-limp was catching up in his wheelchair, The Dude following behind him as they held their heads down. And Silverheart was beside her brother with the same expression.

The invasion had been a great failure, and there was no doubt that the older warriors would be caught. But Goldwing knew they could not turn back, for they had to keep safe until they could find a new chance to strike. But thanks to the heartbreak in the invasion, they did not have the strength to do it.

"This is humiliating," Silverheart panted, stumbling a bit.

"You mean getting the shit utterly beaten out of us by FireClan or having to walk to the Western AirClan camp?" Ashfeather asked.

Silverheart turned her head towards her brother before turning back. "Both."

"Sorry, guys," Goldwing mewed, recalling his trips to the western camp. He tickled Archie's forehead with his tail and went on, "But Archie gets tired from carrying a lot of cats. Besides, I don't think it's far away now."

No one spoke at first for a few minutes. Then Gray-limp meowed, "I wonder how the rest of the troops are?"

"Probably on their way to a prison," Brindleheart sighed sadly. "A few moons before, my dad just got out...now he's going back in."

Nearby, The Dude was mewling, "I miss Tiny."

"I miss not having blisters on my paws," Ashfeather groaned back. "In fact, I miss not having blisters ON my blisters!"

**(Author's Note: I got that line from the Disney movie Dinosaur...which I do NOT own!)**

But suddenly, Nightfoot stopped in front of everyone, feeling the ground with her paws. When she turned back, her face looked relieved.

"Hey, we're here!" the black she-cat purred. "I can feel it!"

So the pack stopped near the edge of a cliff and looked out. But they saw nothing...just a vast empty space filled with white mist in between the cliff they were standing on and the next.

Silverheart just gave her former apprentice a confused glance. "I think your paws might need their eyes checked."

"No, she's right," Goldwing mewed, recalling what he had seen. "We ARE here."

Ashfeather looked around, standing on his hind legs for a bit, before getting down and shrugging to show that he couldn't see anything. But Goldwing knew that soon, they would get to see that it was more than just this wide open space.

"Wow," Nightfoot mewled, impatiently kneading the ground with her paws. "It's so amazing!"

Goldwing knew what was under them all: a multi-tiered structure of an upside down pagoda. And beside it would be more upside down pagodas of the Western AirClan camp with a couple of statues seemingly fixed into the cliffs. He had only been here only once, but he remembered all there was to be seen underneath them all.

**...**

Bearclaw looked down at one of the pagodas as he dropped the rope down the face of the cliff. When he made sure the rope would make him land safely, he began slowly sliding down the rope with his forepaws. He turned to see a large statue of a female AirBender, recalling his last visit here as he continued to make his descent. Then Bearclaw stopped, grabbed the rope in his jaws, and swung himself on the rope, gaining momentum with each arc. He jumped off at the fourth swing, landing on all four paws.

The large dark tabby remembered the last time he visited this place. It was the first place he went to when he was trying to find and capture the Avatar Cat. Back then, he had just started to slowly recover from the injuries his father gave him, a white bandage over his eye. Irontail had went with him to this place, enjoying the travelling and being with his nephew.

"What a fabulous sight," the old gray tabby had sighed, looking over the misty valley.

"The only sight I'd like to see is the Avatar Cat in a cage," Bearclaw had hissed. Today, he was ashamed that he had acted that way.

Irontail had worry on his flat face as he had stepped forth and meowed, "You know...the Avatar Cat hasn't been seen for fourteen years. The chances of finding him here are very unlikely."

The past Bearclaw looked about and growled, "First, we'll check each of the temples of AirClan. Then we'll search the world, searching even the most remote islands until we find him. And then...I will be welcomed back into the Clan."

"Bearclaw, you have only been exiled for a quarter-moon," Irontail meowed. "You should take some time to heal and rest before you continue."

"Just as expected to hear from FireClan's laziest fatass!" the past Bearclaw spat, glaring around at his uncle. As Irontail looked down and sighed, looking hurt, the young dark tabby went on, "Finding and capturing the Avatar Cat is the only way to regain my honor. So I will."

Irontail had looked up at his nephew, turned around, and walked away. Today, Bearclaw gave a small groan and pawed at his face in shame. He wished he hadn't treated his uncle like that; the elder had just been worried for him. What was worse...he wasn't sure if Irontail would forgive him for betraying him at BoulderClan.

_I'm sorry, Uncle...I just didn't know what to do._

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard, and Bearclaw looked to the left, hissing in surprise and running off. He took cover behind a pillar and crouched down when he saw the Avatar Cat's dragon fly past him. Bearclaw had momentarily forgotten that he had a job to do now as he looked out from behind the pillar. It was to find the Avatar Cat and join him...but he needed practice.

So he leapt out from behind the pillar and raced up the nearby stairs, stairs that led up to the forest above the cliffs.

**...**

"Wow," Gray-limp was mewing as he and The Dude looked up at a flight of stairs linking to a bridge. "This is so different from the Northern AirClan camp. I wonder if there's some secret rooms here as well?"

"Well come on!" Brindleheart called, waving his tail to the other cats to join him. "Let's go!"

So he and the two other loners enthusiastically ran off from the hourglass-shaped fountain and ran up the steps. Goldwing wanted to explore with them for a bit, so he got up and ran after them, but Silverheart blocked the way, holding his staff in her jaws. Indignant, he kept trying to dodge around her, but she was too quick and a bit bigger than he was.

"You guys can go ahead," she called to them, handing Goldwing his staff back as she laid a paw on his shoulder. To him, she meowed, "I think it's time we talk some things over with you."

Goldwing nodded reluctantly while looking out to the bridge, where Brindleheart and The Dude were helping Gray-limp onto it. As Brindleheart gently set the wheelchair down, the legless gray tom sped off rapidly like a seasoned warrior.

"Race you, Dude!" Brindleheart laughed as he raced off.

The small ginger-&-white tom raced after him, yowling, "I already told you, Brindleheart! Call me '_The _Dude!'"

Goldwing watched them go, hurt that he wasn't allowed to go with them. "Silverheart, why the hell can't I go with them? It's been moons since I was here!"

"We need to decide what we're going to have to do," Silverheart told him, a serious look on her face. "And since you're the Avatar Cat, I think you should be a part of this."

The young golden cat was about to protest, but seeing the serious look she gave him, he knew he would have to listen...even if he didn't like it. So he padded over to a flat slightly rickety stone bench, leapt up, and sat down, crossly glaring down at his paws. His friends were sitting around him on stone benches, except for Nightfoot, who was perched on a lone stone.

"Fine," he growled. "So what's the new plan?"

"Well..." Ashfeather began. "The new plan...is the _old_ plan. All you need to do is master all of the four elements and beat Darkstar before the Shadow Meteor comes."

Goldwing pawed grumpily at a lizard. "Oh yeah, sure. I'll just do that," he growled sarcastically, letting the lizard slip out of his grasp.

"No one said it would be easy," Silverheart retorted.

"Well, it's not even gonna be possible," Goldwing snapped back. "Besides, where am I even gonna find a damn FireBending mentor?"

But as soon as he mewed this, he realized he would have to break his promise: promising never to FireBend ever again. Silverheart had nearly died from it. However, if it meant saving the Clans, then he would have to do it.

_But even so, where CAN we find one?_

Silverheart tilted her head to one side, thinking. Finally, she meowed, "Who knows? Or maybe we can find Hayato again?"

Goldwing lied down without a care, recalling the ginger-pelted rogue. "Pfft, yeah right...like we'll ever run into Hayato again."

"Who's Hayato?" Nightfoot asked, looking confused. When no one answered her, the blind EarthClan warrior laid her head down and mewed, "Never mind. If it's important, I'll find out soon."

Goldwing stood up when no one else made any plans for finding a FireBending mentor. If they weren't going to keep questioning him, he would decide to go explore around the AirClan camp. So he leapt over Ashfeather's head with his glider in his jaws, Tobias following him. When the others gave him questioning stares, he turned to face them.

"Oh well, guess we can't come up with anybody," he mewed. "Why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple? I'm sure there'll be some lemurs nearby."

He ran towards a mist-covered cliff, unfolded his glider, and leapt off the cliff. Tobias flew into the mist and joined his master as both of them flew upwards and out of sight.

As soon as they left, Nightfoot asked, "What's eating him?"

"Dunno," Ashfeather muttered, bringing a paw to his chin. "There's gotta be someone who can teach him FireBending."

**...**

"Hello. It's me. Bearclaw," said tom meowed. "But I guess you probably already know me...sort of. Uh...the thing is, I have lots of FireBending experience, and I seem to be pretty good at it. Well, you've seen me...you know, when I was attacking you? Uh, yeah...I'm sorry about that. But anyways, I'm a good cat now. I mean, I thought I was a good cat before, but now I realize I was bad. But anyways... I think it's time I joined your pack and taught the Avatar Cat FireBending."

Bearclaw had decided to camp in the forest above the cliffs, practicing for when he would speak with the Avatar Cat. He was talking to a huge brown cane toad sitting on a large log. The tarp from the war balloon had been used as a form of shelter, but Bearclaw was going to save it up for later. When he turned back, the toad ended up croaking.

Hearing this, Bearclaw snapped, "Well? What's your answer?"

The toad croaked and leapt onto Bearclaw's broad head before jumping off. The dark brown tabby tom sat down, looking down at his paws.

"Yeah, that's what I'd say too." He stood up and began pacing, mewing, "How in StarClan's name can I convince these cats that I'm on the good side now? What would Uncle do?"

He remembered Irontail teaching him some various lessons in life and realized that this could help at well. So he held his tail and head up and began pacing, mewing in a mimicry of his uncle's voice.

"'Young Bearclaw, you have to look within yourself to save yourself _from_ your other self. Only then will your true self be revealed.'" But he realized how confusing that was; for he had come up with that out of thin air. So he muttered, "Even when I'm talking for him, I can't figure out what he _means_. What would Frostfire do?"

He recalled how Frostfire would often threaten others in order to have power over them. He knew this would not be a good idea to do it, but there was no other choice. So when he began to speak, he raised his pitch to make himself sound slightly like his littermate's voice.

"'Listen, Avatar Cat,'" he sneered, positioning his body into a pose he thought was feminine. "'You can either let me join your little pack or I can do something unbelievably terrible to you and your little friends. And your little hawk too! Your choice.'"

But he dropped it all, knowing that it also sounded dumb. So he sat back down and sighed, "I guess I'm not good at impersonations."

Next to him, the cane toad hopped back to him and croaked.

**...**

It felt really good to explore the upside down pagodas instead of listening to battle plans all day long. Goldwing dipped in and out of the mist as Tobias followed him, cawing as his wing tips skimmed the surface. Archie was flying near the spires under them, Silverheart and Nightfoot inside the saddle while Ashfeather steered towards the gliding AirClan warrior. Goldwing did not want to keep talking about it, so he flew further away from them.

"Goldwing! Can we talk about you learning FireBending _now_?" Silverheart called.

But he didn't want to now. Feigning deafness, he called back, "What? The wind is too loud in my ears! Check this out!"

So he maneuvered his glider into a loop, and Tobias mimicked his actions in perfect sync. That was when Ashfeather called.

"Goldwing!" the dark gray tabby yowled, straining his voice against the rushing wind. "I think we should make some plans about our future! Not keep flying around all day!"

"Okay!" Goldwing mewed when he and Archie landed on the ground at the hourglass fountain. "We can make some plans while I show you the big Pai Sho table. You're gonna love the all-day echo chamber!"

"I think that'll have to wait," Nightfoot meowed, looking serious.

Goldwing looked at her in a quizzical way, the WaterClan siblings following suit. "Why's that?"

Archie answered that by moving to the side; behind him was a shadow. All four cats got into their defensive stances and hissed, thinking a Dark Forest warrior had chased them there. But who they saw made them even more surprised.

A familiar dark brown tabby tom was standing before them, an unusual smile on his face. The red scar on one side of his face, the huge shape, and the amber eyes were too familiar to even ignore. Not to mention how he had caused them trouble during leaf-bare.

"Hello," the tabby meowed, smiling brightly. "It's me. Bearclaw."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Bearclaw had done it; he had finally come across the Avatar Cat and his pack. But instead of being welcoming...they were glaring at him in a hostile way. Yet Bearclaw knew they had a right to do so, for if he hadn't kept attacking them, they wouldn't be like this. He looked over at the silver tabby she-cat in mild surprise. Silverheart had changed a bit ever since he last saw her, glaring at him in pure hatred.

He watched as the golden cat moved his staff in an attacking position while the others did the same as well. But Bearclaw did not want to fight them; he wanted to make peace with them.

"Hey, I heard you guys were flying around down there, so I just thought I'd wait for you here," he explained.

The Avatar Cat's white dragon stomped towards him, growling, as Bearclaw took a step back and crouched low. To his surprise, the dragon began licking his face warmly, his long tongue like a big slimy pink python. This caused the other cats to give him confused looks as Goldwing lowered his battle pose. When the dragon was done, Bearclaw shook off the slobber like he had just gotten out of water.

To the other cats, he meowed, "I know you must be surprised to see me here. I'd be too if I were in your place."

"Not really, since you've followed us all over the damn world," the dark gray tabby tom (_I think his name's Ashfeather, _Bearclaw thought) casually growled.

"Right..." Bearclaw chuckled nervously. "Well, uh... anyways, what I wanted to tell you about is that I'm sorry, and...uh, I'm a good cat now. And, well, I think I should join your pack. Oh, and I can teach FireBending...to you."

The golden tom lowered his staff even further while Silverheart's dark blue eyes narrowed in disbelief. Next to her, her brother was dumbfounded. So Bearclaw went on, "See, I uh..."

"You want to what now?" the black she-cat asked as the dark gray tabby unsheathed his claws.

"Do you actually think we would trust you?" Silverheart spat, sounding more hostile than the others. "I mean, how stupid do you think we are?"

Her brother nodded. "Yeah! All you've ever done is hunt us down and try to get Goldwing!"

"I've done some good things!" Bearclaw retorted warily. Thankful he now knew the Avatar Cat's name, he meowed, "I mean, I could've stolen your dragon in BoulderClan, but I didn't, did I? I set him free! That's something!" he added, flicking his ear towards the Asian Lung dragon to prove his point.

Once again, the dragon kept licking him.

"Archie _does_ seem to like him," the black she-cat meowed, making the siblings turn to her in surprise. Brother and sister turned back angrily towards Bearclaw, their blue eyes frosty as they glared into his amber ones.

"He probably just covered himself in fish guts or something so that Archie would lick him," Ashfeather snarled. "I'm not falling for it. No way."

As "Archie" licked his lips behind him, Bearclaw mewed remorsefully, "I understand why you wouldn't trust me. I know I've made some mistakes in the past." At this, he looked to the side in pure shame.

"Like when you attacked our camp?" Ashfeather snapped. Bearclaw remembered doing that, now shameful he had attacked another Clan like that.

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and get us?" Silverheart spat, taking a step forth with her claws unsheathed.

"Look, I admit I've done some awful things," Bearclaw replied, lowering his head. "I was wrong to try and catch you, and I'm sorry I attacked your camp." As they still looked peeved, he went on, "And I'm sorry I sent that tiger assassin after you. But don't worry; I'll stop him."

But he realized that was the wrong thing to say. Ashfeather and the black she-cat let out hisses of rage as the former snarled, "Wait a minute! YOU sent Explosion Cat after us?"

Bearclaw began to panic, cursing himself for saying this out loud. "Well, that's not actually his name, but I know he blew off two of his legs when he was a cub. Look, what I'm saying is-"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the other tom spat sarcastically. "I didn't mean to insult your _friend_!"

"He's not my friend!" Bearclaw hissed back.

But the black she-cat joined in, pointing a paw at Bearclaw and snarling, "That freaky tiger threw me and Silverheart in prison and tried to blow us up!"

Bearclaw sighed and looked down. This conversation was not going well at all. It was three against one now, but he realized that one other cat was saying anything. Goldwing was looking down at his paws, unable to speak.

"Why aren't _you_ saying anything? Bearclaw demanded. "_You_ once said we could be friends. You know I have some good in me."

He recalled how Thornflare, the deputy before Frostfire, had caught Goldwing and kept him in a secured fortress. He had rescued Goldwing out of there in his Red Demon disguise...but that was just to catch him on his own. And when they were alone, Goldwing had talked about his old friend Blazepaw, even saying that they could be friends.

_If only I hadn't attacked him..._

Goldwing looked to the side before turning back to the rest of the pack. Ashfeather looked over at him and shook his head like he was the deputy of the group. Finally, the Avatar Cat looked back at Bearclaw...but there was no warmth in his dark stormy gray eyes.

"There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done to us," he growled, taking his breath away. "We will never let you join our pack."

Bearclaw was shocked. He thought Goldwing was the merciful type, the type Irontail had always kept talking about.

"He's right," Silverheart added. "Now get out of here. NOW."

Bearclaw closed his eyes to think for a moment before opening them and staring back at the pack. He stepped forth and tried again, "Look, you four. I'm just saying that I'm not that kind of cat anymore. Just give me a chance."

"Either _you_ leave, or _we_ attack," Ashfeather hissed, unsheathing his claws.

So Bearclaw stepped back, wondering how they got to be so hostile. But there was no other way around it. He bowed his head and meowed, "Well, if you won't accept me as a friend, then at least accept me as a prisoner."

"No we won't!" Silverheart roared, running over and slashing her claws hard at Bearclaw's face. He felt her claws slice at the burned part of his face, but that hurt less than the rejection these cats were giving him.

As he still stood there, the silver tabby she-cat proceeded to draw water from her water bag and WaterBended it at him. Bearclaw was pushed away from them by the small wave of water, lying facedown on the ground in a puddle of water sopping wet. The blood from his face dripped down and mixed with the water thrown at him.

Silverheart glared down at him with blood on her claws, snarling angrily, "Now get out of here, you bastard, and never return! We better not see you around here again or...well, we _better not_ see you around here again!"

As Ashfeather stalked forth to stand beside her, Bearclaw looked up, water dripping from his head fur. He felt as if he was a naughty little puppy being punished by its master by the way he was crouching low. But he realized that they weren't listening to anything he was saying about him being good. Their hatred for him was just too deep.

So he stood up, nodded numbly, and padded away from the pack. The sun was starting to set as the inside of the temple glowed slightly orange. Goldwing and Silverheart glared after him as he left them, but then Goldwing looked to the side as if to think.

Bearclaw did not stop to hunt anything on the way back, for he had lost his appetite. When he made it back to his camp, he immediately started pacing around.

"I can't believe how stupid I was!" he hissed to himself. "I mean, what was I thinking? Telling them I sent that tiger to go after them? Why didn't I just say _Frostfire_ sent him? They would've believed _that_! Stupid! Stupid!" he finished, banging his head on a nearby tree.

As he slumped down again, the same toad was sitting on the log, staring at him. It croaked at him, and Bearclaw sighed. He would have to try again sooner or later.

_Being a good cat is harder than I thought._

**...**

"Why would he want to try and fool us like that?" Silverheart muttered, padding towards the fountain. Night had fallen, and the warriors were going to get ready for sleep.

Ashfeather snorted beside her. "Yeah. He just wants to lead us into a trap."

Silverheart nodded as Goldwing returned with a sparrow in his jaws. "This is just like when we were trapped together in BoulderClan. He started talking about his mother and making it look like he's an actual cat with feelings."

Nightfoot frowned. Maybe that was true after all. Besides, she had felt his pawsteps and how he had spoken.

"No way," Ashfeather growled as his sister turned towards her. "That bastard just wanted you to trust him and feel sorry for him, so you let your guard down, then he pounced."

"The thing is...it worked," Silverheart meowed, circling around in her nest. "I DID feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt. But when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price." She leapt out her nest, adding hatefully, "We can't trust him or forgive him for what he's done."

"I have a confession to make." Goldwing's quiet mew made her stop. "You remember when you two got sick with greencough and I got captured by Thornflare?"

Ashfeather glared at him. "And you made us suck on frozen toads! How the hell could I forget? I had a wart on the flap that hangs down from the back of my throat for an entire moon!"

He opened his mouth wide to show the other cats what he was talking about. Silverheart sounded annoyed as she muttered, "I checked on it, and I already told you. There was nothing there!"

"But I could feel it! It's my throat flap...thingy!" Ashfeather protested while Nightfoot rolled her eyes. _So much like Sleepy..._

Goldwing stepped in between the two siblings. "Anyways, when Thornflare kept me in chains, Bearclaw came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me. Maybe he DID have something good inside him all along."

Silverheart glared at him as she started grooming himself. "No way. I think he only did it so he could capture you himself."

Ashfeather nodded again. "Yeah. Face it, Goldwing. You're just like a big juicy piece of fresh-kill to him."

"...you're probably right," the golden tom meowed uncertainly.

"And what was all that crazy mouse-brained bullshit he said about setting Archie free?" Silverheart went on angrily. "What a liar!"

"Actually...he wasn't lying," Nightfoot spoke up, sitting on a nearby stone. She had heard enough about Bearclaw to quickly assume he was an irredeemable cat. Like Goldwing said, perhaps there was some good in him after all.

But Ashfeather meowed sarcastically, "Oh, hooray! In all the time of being evil, at least he didn't add animal cruelty on the list!"

Nightfoot shrugged, recalling her sheltered kittypet life. "I'm just saying that, considering his screwed-up family and how he was raised, he could've become a worse cat."

"You're right, Nightfoot!" Silverheart hissed with sarcasm. "In fact, why don't we go find him and give him an award? The 'not as much of a fox-heart as you were' award!"

"All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was honest," Nightfoot retorted calmly. "I just think you're all just letting your hurt feelings and anger keep you from thinking clearly."

Silverheart just glared at her former apprentice, though Nightfoot ignored it due to blindness. "Easy for you to say!" the silver tabby she-cat spat. "You weren't there when he hired pirate cats to catch Goldwing and kill me!"

"Or when he attacked Heavyrose Island and burned down the town!" Ashfeather added.

"Or when he tried to take me prisoner back at the FireClan temple!" Goldwing added.

"How could you even think of defending him after what he's done?" Silverheart asked with nothing but hate.

Nightfoot didn't answer right away, angry that her friends were being as stubborn as mules. She leapt off the stone, retorting, "Because you're all ignoring one vital fact. Goldwing needs to have a FireBending mentor. We can't think of a single cat in the world who can do the job!" Then she stalked around the others, hissing, "Now one shows up like food in a food dish waiting to be eaten and you...!" she added, flicking her tail angrily at Silverheart, "...won't think about it?"

By the scent coming from Silverheart, her former mentor seemed slightly remorseful about her words. Nightfoot glared over at Goldwing, hoping he would at least think about it while they were here. Unfortunately...she was wrong.

"No. I won't have Bearclaw as my mentor," the Avatar Cat muttered, stalking away.

"Damn right you're not, buddy," Ashfeather meowed, stepping beside the others.

Silverheart padded away, sounding rather smug as she meowed, "I guess that's settled."

Nightfoot hissed in frustration, angry about how her friends were behaving. These cats were not the same brave, sensible...and funny...warriors she had first met. They were just creatures unable to let go of something that should stay in the past. If they weren't going to talk with Bearclaw, then she would have to talk with him herself.

"You know what? Screw this!" she hissed, stalking away. "It looks like I'm not the only blind cat around here!"

Ignoring the shocked gasps she received from them, she stalked away into the darkness. She would show them that Bearclaw tried to change.

**...**

_Bearclaw twitched in his sleep, ending up in the same dark forest he had been in long ago. And in front of him...was Mapleshade. Leaves and twigs were rustling around the ancient Dark Forest cat, and she was sporting the same evil grin he had seen before._

What is she doing here?_ Bearclaw wondered, stalking forth. He thought he had gotten rid of her moons ago when he began learning from Irontail. Out loud, he snapped, "Mapleshade? What are you doing here?"_

"_So you've been rejected by that pathetic Avatar Cat and his friends, eh?" the ginger-&-white she-cat hissed, an evil glint in her amber eyes. "What will you do now? Kill them?"_

"_No," Bearclaw meowed back bravely. "I won't. Killing's not my thing anymore. I want to join them for real and help them fight my father."_

_Mapleshade's tail thrashed wildly on the slimy ground. "Oh really?" she mewed softly. "Well, let me congratulate you...with this!"_

_At this, she let out a yowl and leapt on top of his broad shoulders. Bearclaw gathered all of his strength and threw her off of him, wincing at a scratch he got on his shoulder. Mapleshade leapt back and swiped at the scar on his face, the area where Silverheart had recently slashed at him, but Bearclaw knocked her paw back viciously, finally knocking her down and pinning her down._

_Mapleshade glared up at him in deepest loathing and hissed, "You'll never do it. You don't even have the guts to do it!"_

"_No," Bearclaw growled again. "You're already dead."_

More sounds of rustling leaves and twigs woke Bearclaw up, wincing as he looked at his clawed shoulder. He lapped at the blood, licking it off as he gently did the same with the blood on his face. Then he pushed his upper body off the ground and stared beyond the campfire, sniffing the air.

"Who's there?" he called. When the something crept nearer, he swiped his claws in an arc and FireBended, yowling, "Stay back!"

"It's me!"

In time, a pillar sprung up from the bushes. Bearclaw tried to pull the fire back as it circled around the pillar. But then he noticed black paws under the bushes at the flames as the owner yowled in pain when the fire burned them.

Shocked, Bearclaw ran over to take a good look at whom he had accidentally burned. Having recognized the black she-cat's voice (_Her name's Nightfoot, right? _he thought), he looked down. The black she-cat was writing on the ground, hissing in pain while her hind paws were raw red and bleeding.

Glaring up at him, the she-cat hissed, "You fox-hearted son of a bitch! You burned my paws!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Bearclaw squeaked, shocked at what he had done as he reached down towards her. "It was a mistake!"

"Get away from me!" Nightfoot snarled, pushing his muzzle away angrily. Then she threw a chunk of earth from the ground at him, hitting him in the face and making him step back.

Once that was done, she got up partially and started crawling away while dragging her hind paws behind her.

Bearclaw dodged each one quickly and tried to catch up with her. With the skills he learned when he was a rogue, he kept dodging the rocks Nightfoot kept throwing at him. By the way her fear scent was in the air, she was in no doubt frightened, and Bearclaw blamed himself for that. If she could walk again, it would be a miracle; if not...he would blame himself.

When Bearclaw caught up with her, he meowed, "Let me help you!" As Nightfoot swiped a chunk of earth back while he dodged it, he yowled, "Look, I'm sorry!"

After dodging yet another rock, he gently laid a paw on her shoulder. But this made Nightfoot nip the paw hard and hiss, "Get off me! Get the hell off of me!"

The next attack took him by surprise; a column of earth rose up, hit him hard in the chest, and propelled him away. Bearclaw laid there and watched as Nightfoot kept crawling away from him.

"I didn't know it was you!" he yelled, trying to get up. But he collapsed and groaned in pain from the swift attack to his chest. He noticed her crawling back into the bushes as he yowled after her, "Hey! Wait! Come back!"

But Nightfoot was gone.

Bearclaw rolled over to his side, hissing angrily to himself. Now he had done it. There would be no chance in asking to join Goldwing's pack now. If they saw Nightfoot's wound (and he knew they certainly would), they would hunt him down in revenge. This was not what he wanted to do when he came to the Western AirClan camp. Instead of making new friends, he was reigniting the old flames of hatred.

"Shit," he cursed, pawing at his face. "Shit, shit, shit!" Raising his head up in the air, he let out a screech: "WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD?!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldwing looked on as the cats started gathering around the fresh-kill pile, picking out their breakfast. He, Silverheart, and Ashfeather had gotten up before dawn to do some hunting around the temple. In the forest above the cliffs and temple, prey was surely bountiful there, complete with a small stream for fishing and getting water. But when he saw a red tarp, Goldwing guessed a certain cat had decided to make camp there.

His insides burned with silent anger as he thought about Bearclaw. No matter what Nightfoot said yesterday, he would not go to him and ask him to teach him FireBending. Yet he couldn't help but think over what Nightfoot had said before about them being blind to the truth. But Goldwing pushed it away just as Silverheart started sorting through the fresh-kill pile.

"Has anyone seen Nightfoot?" said she-cat asked, handing The Dude a large trout.

"Nope," Ashfeather replied. "Haven't seen her since last night."

Brindleheart shrugged. "Maybe she's just exploring the temple. There's some fun locations to practice EarthBending."

Silverheart nodded, but she did look worried. "Maybe we should go look for her."

"Aw, let her have fun with her rocks. Or whatever," Ashfeather spoke up, flicking his tail in a dismissive way. "I don't wanna let her get pissed at us again."

"_We_ can go check for her!" The Dude squealed, looking up from the trout he was eating.

Gray-limp rolled up to them, his eyes shining. "Yeah, I wanna ride that tunnel down to the hall of statues again. It'll work better now that I fixed my brakes!"

Then he pulled his break stick and rolled off, kicking up a cloud of dust. The other cats shared looks after the disabled gray tom raced off. Maybe while exploring, Gray-limp could try and find Nightfoot. Goldwing forgot what predators roamed around the Western AirClan camp, but he hoped she did not run into any of them.

Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed through the chamber, and all the cats flinched as the ground shook. They turned their heads to see a large cloud of dust and (when the dust cleared) a large pile of rocks beneath a newly formed hole in the wall. A few more rocks fell to the ground as Nightfoot crawled out of the hole and slid to the floor, grunting in pain. The three older warriors got up and ran over to see what was wrong. And then Goldwing saw why.

Her back paws were burned and bloodied, the pads blackened instead of soft and pink like they normally were. She must have been attacked by a FireBender...a very certain FireBender.

"Nightfoot! What in StarClan's name happened?" Silverheart asked, giving her past apprentice motherly licks.

"My paws got burned," the young black she-cat grunted.

Silverheart looked over at her burned paw pads. "Oh, no, what happened?

Nightfoot glared at her in an annoyed way. "I just told you! My paws got burned!"

"I meant how."

"Well..." Nightfoot lowered her gaze. "I kinda...went to see Bearclaw last night."

"You what!?" Goldwing yelped. _So it WAS true!_

Silverheart's eyes widened. "You went to see Bearclaw?"

Ashfeather hissed in shock.

Nightfoot groaned, "I was angry about how you guys were ripping him off, and I just thought he could be a helpful ally. If I went and talked to him, maybe we could work something out."

_I doubt it, _Goldwing thought gloomily, remembering how he had burned Silverheart. He had never forgiven himself for doing so, and surely Bearclaw couldn't be forgiven for burning Nightfoot?

He pulled himself out of his thought just in time as Silverheart Bended some water out of her water pouch and around Nightfoot's pads to heal them. Goldwing watched the young she-cat wince a little before sighing and relaxing from the cooling water wash over her wounds.

"So Bearclaw attacked you?" he asked her.

"Well...he did and didn't," Nightfoot replied. "It was just an accident. I accidentally snuck up on him sleeping...and that's how it happened."

Goldwing wasn't too convinced. "But did he FireBend at you?"

Nightfoot lowered her head. "Yes."

"See, you trusted him, and you got burned!" Ashfeather piped up. "Literally!"

Silverheart didn't say anything about it as she Bended the water away and back into her water pouch. When Nightfoot tried to stand but yelped, the WaterClan warrior meowed, "It'll take a while for your paws to heal. I wish I worked on them sooner."

"Yeah, me too," Nightfoot sighed. "I just wished I washed my paws earlier."

"Bearclaw's now too dangerous to be left alone," Ashfeather hissed. "We have to go after him and teach him a lesson."

Goldwing saw some reason in this even though he wasn't a violent cat. Bearclaw had hurt a cat on their side, and it was soon time for some payback. So he meowed, "I hate looking for a fight, but you're right, Ashfeather. After how he burned Nightfoot, I think we have no other choice."

Ashfeather grunted. "He's crafty, but we'll capture him. I know we will."

"Why don't you guys invite him back here?" Nightfoot suggested as both toms picked her up and laid her on their shoulders. "He's already offered to be a prisoner yesterday."

"Yeah..." Ashfeather remarked. "Get him to come back and say he's coming with us to be our prisoner. Then we'll strike and _really_ make him our prisoner. He'll never suspect it!"

"You are a master of surprise, Ashfeather," Silverheart retorted sarcastically.

The dark gray tabby tom and Goldwing carried Nightfoot over to the edge of the fountain water as Silverheart followed them. Once they were there, the toms lowered Nightfoot down on it, letting her dip her hind paws in the water.

"Ahh, that's the stuff," she sighed, looking relieved. "Now I know how you guys feel. Not being able to see when your paws stink like skunks!"

The other three cats purred before going off to do some chores. Goldwing picked up some moss from the rocks and carried it over to Silverheart, who accepted it and washed it over Nightfoot's paws. When he looked up, he thought he saw a dark figure swing on a vine in the distance, but he shrugged it off and went back to what he was doing. And just when he did...it happened.

All of a sudden, a red beam hit the ledge above the fountain and exploded. Goldwing leapt away from the falling rocks just in time while Silverheart did the same, her brother's scruff in her jaws. Ashfeather stumbled back before landing on his back, looking up. When the dust cleared away, the two toms padded forth to pick up Nightfoot and carry her away from the mess. But just when they picked her up, they heard a familiar voice.

"No!" They looked over to the cliffs to see Bearclaw stalking towards someone. "Stop hunting the Avatar Cat!"

**(Author's Note: Some parts coming up on here are like the fighting scenes with Kaibutsu from Ginga Densetsu Weed...which I also don't own.)**

When Goldwing and Ashfeather padded over towards Silverheart, their hearts nearly stopped when they saw who he was talking to. It was Explosion Cat; the huge tiger looked angry as he glared down at Bearclaw. A large patch of pink skin was showing on his chest where some fur had fallen off, perhaps from the last explosion.

Bearclaw was leaping forth, biting Explosion Cat's muzzle as he snarled, "The mission's off! I'm ordering you to stop right now!"

Explosion Cat swiped his claws across Bearclaw's back, making him drop to the ground before turning back to see the other cats. He fired another blast at the top of the fountain, destroying it, as the four cats hid behind the ledge, covering their heads. Bearclaw leapt forth again and landed on the tiger's back, slashing at his pelt with his flaming claws.

"If you keep attacking them, I won't pay you!" he roared. As the tiger shook him off, he landed on all four paws, yowling, "All right, I'll pay you double! Just stop attacking them!"

He leapt forth and sunk his fangs into Explosion Cat's ear and pulled hard, making the huge cat roar angrily. Explosion Cat fired again, but when he missed, he threw Bearclaw off, grabbed him by the back, and slammed him down to the ground before tossing him away. Goldwing took a look at the incoming blast with fright and ducked his head. The blast of energy travelled down past the ledge where the fountain was and exploded as it crashed into a pagoda below it.

Then Bearclaw leapt up to his paws just as Explosion Cat inhaled and fired a blast at Goldwing and his friends. The dark tabby created a shield of fire as the blast hit it and exploded. Roaring, the tiger leapt forth, grabbed Bearclaw's head in his jaws, and threw him up into the air. And as the FireClan warrior fell back down, Explosion Cat head-butted him so hard that it caused him to skid over the ground and fall over a cliff out of sight.

_StarClan dammit! _Goldwing hissed quietly as he and his friends looked over the edge of the fountain in shock. Half of him was relieved when he saw Bearclaw holding on to a vine, blood dripping from his head and back down into the chasm. _Should I be happy he survived? But we can't think about it now!_

When Explosion Cat looked away from where Bearclaw fell, Goldwing saw the chance. He leapt out from behind the fountain pool and ran to the side, doing a spinning back kick, AirBending and kicking up the dust around him, then leaping straight up. As Explosion Cat fired a blast at him from below, Goldwing spun around in midair, AirBending a tornado and kicking it at the tiger. Explosion Cat leapt over the tornado and fired another blast as he descended. Goldwing landed on his paws and quickly leapt away from the blast, landing next to his friends.

Quickly, Explosion Cat sunk his claws into a small ledge and broke it, slowing his fall. With a thud, he landed on a new ledge and rolled around, firing a blast just as he stopped. After the cats shielded themselves from the attack, Silverheart ran forth and Bended the water from the pool, making a huge wave up between them and Explosion Cat. She descended from jumping as she brought her paws down and crossed them, giving a battle cry while the wave matched her paw movements and icicles in both directions. However, Explosion Cat raised his metal paw and swiped at the icicles, breaking them with his claws. With a throaty growl, he stepped forward, an angry frown on his face as he scanned the area.

The four cats were all hiding behind the large stone pillar out of the tiger's view. There was a sound of another blast as the beam of energy hit a different pillar and exploded, destroying it. The group lowered their heads down to protect themselves from any flying debris. Nightfoot looked up in time to speak with her friends.

"He's gonna blast this place off the cliff!" she mewled. "We gotta take him out!"

Silverheart then peeked out from behind the pillar, gasping and pulling back as another blast exploded. To the others, she meowed, "I can't step out there to WaterBend at him without getting blown to bits. And I can't get a good enough angle on him from down here!"

"Hmmm..." Ashfeather still had his head lowered, but he was just thinking of something. At last, he raised his head and meowed, "I think I know how to get a good angle on him."

He gently pushed his sister back and pulled out his badger-bone boomerang, pressing his back against the pillar. The dark gray tabby warrior peeked out from behind the pillar just as another blast exploded on the ground. Smoke billowed past him, and Ashfeather watched the two blasts of energy shoot out from behind a stone pillar and explode on the ground. Finally, he raised his boomerang towards the source of the blasts and measured their trajectory.

_StarClan let this trick work! _Goldwing prayed silently.

"Boomerang, don't fail me now," Ashfeather prayed. And then...he threw it into the air.

The boomerang flew through the air and curved behind a stone pillar. As Explosion Cat inhaled for another blast, he turned at the sound of the weapon and snarled as it hit the third eye on his forehead. The tiger stumbled, and Ashfeather smiled, running out from behind the pillar, followed by the rest of the pack.

Ashfeather jumped up into the air and caught the boomerang proudly. "Yeah! Great job, boomerang!"

He and his sister sat up smiling, but something happened that made them frown again. The tiger was standing back up and rubbing his head before glaring over at them.

"Aw, boomerang! Why?!" Ashfeather whined.

So AvatarClan started to run back towards the stone pillar they were hiding behind. When they did, they watched Explosion Cat stumble about, dizzied from the attack to his head. He swayed and reared his head back for another blast. Goldwing prepared for the worst as Explosion Cat inhaled and let loose a blast. But instead of the usual blast, sparks flew out from his forehead, making him roar in pain as small explosions erupted from his head. And just when he began to rub his forehead again, the area he was standing on...exploded.

Out of the smoke was a glint of light, and Explosion Cat fell down into the abyss below, blood all over his striped pelt and his amber eyes blank and glossy. One of his metal legs had been snapped off and fell in after him. As the structure fell into the misty chasm below, all four cats looked down in shock, staring at each other, speechless. The assassin was gone, killed by his own explosion. Explosion Cat would not hunt them anymore.

Behind the large metal doors behind the fountain, Brindleheart and Gray-limp were peeking out from behind one of the doors. As they looked perplexed, The Dude joined them in peeking out from behind the door. A grunt made the cats look up; Bearclaw was climbing up the vine from earlier, pulling himself up and looking bloody. Goldwing realized that if it weren't for him somehow warning them in time, they would be dead by now.

_I think he WAS meant to join us after all, _Goldwing thought. _I think we should let him in._

**...**

Bearclaw had found them near the fountain they were at yesterday. They were busy calming down and patching up wounds they had gotten from debris; he didn't ask to be healed, for he wanted to try and find his own herbs. He was relieved to see Nightfoot looking unharmed, but he still felt guilty at seeing her limp a bit. Other than that, he was happy to see the other cats unharmed.

_Thank you, StarClan, _Bearclaw prayed as he turned to Goldwing, who had his head low as if he was thinking. Would they chase him away just for coming near them?

"I can't believe I'm saying this..." the golden tom was mewing, raising his head. "...but...thanks for helping us, Bearclaw."

"Hey, what about me?" Ashfeather asked indignantly. "_I_ did the boomerang thing!"

Bearclaw stepped forth, and luckily, they didn't stop him. He meowed, "I know I didn't explain myself properly yesterday. I've been through a lot in the past moons, and it's been hard. But now I realize that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I lost my honor, and that my father could return it to me if I captured you, Goldwing. But now I realize that no one can give you your honor. You have to earn it yourself by going down the right path. Now I want to play my part in ending the Great War. And I know my destiny is to help you restore balance and peace to the Clans."

Goldwing's face softened, and Bearclaw blinked some blood out of his eyes as it trickled down. He guessed he was thinking over what he said. There was something else he wanted to clear up.

"I'm sorry I burned your paws," he went on, turning to Nightfoot. "It was an accident. Fire can be wild and dangerous. So as a FireBender, I need to be careful and control my Bending so I don't hurt others unintentionally."

At this, Goldwing looked up at the dark tabby in surprise and realization. He looked down in thought for a second before looking back up to Bearclaw. Said cat wondered what he was thinking about.

Finally, the Avatar Cat mewed, "I think you were destined to be my FireBending mentor. When I first tried to learn FireBending as an apprentice, I burned Silverheart and almost killed her. And after that, I promised to never FireBend ever again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt those you love. So I'll have to break this promise." He dipped his head to Bearclaw and went on, "I would be honored to be your FireBending apprentice."

Bearclaw smiled down at the younger cat; he was one of them now. So he bowed his head in return and mewed, "Thank you. I'm happy you've accepted me into your pack."

"Hold on," Goldwing spoke up. "I still have to ask my friends here if it'll be okay with them too. Nightfoot..." he added, turning to the black she-cat. "...you're the one Bearclaw burned last night. So what do you think?"

Nightfoot stayed silent for a second while she was thinking. Finally, she shrugged and meowed, "Sure, why not? Let 'im join. That'll give me time to get back at him for burning my paws."

Goldwing smiled before turning to Ashfeather. "What do you think? Should we let him join?"

Ashfeather closed his eyes to think for a moment. Then he opened his eyes and replied, "Hey, all I want is to defeat Darkstar and let the Clans be in peace. So if you think this is the way to do it, then I'll go with you."

"Good. What about you, Silverheart?" the Avatar Cat asked, turning to the silver tabby.

Silverheart looked up at Bearclaw and frowned at him, her dark blue eyes glaring into his bright amber ones. Bearclaw gulped nervously, knowing she was the only cat in the pack he betrayed in BoulderClan. He hoped that once he joined the little pack, they could get along again. It would be what Irontail would want him to do.

"You're the leader of AvatarClan, Goldwing," she finally meowed. "So I'll go with what you think is right."

Goldwing smiled at her before turning back to Bearclaw, bowing slightly. "There you have it. Welcome to AvatarClan, Bearclaw."

"Thank you," Bearclaw replied, bowing too. "I promise I won't let you down."

The group nodded and padded away, Ashfeather carrying Nightfoot. Bearclaw watched them go, happy that he had done it. He had become a warrior of AvatarClan now, and he was closer to fulfilling his new destiny: helping Goldwing defeat Darkstar. He was sure his ancestor Tigerstar would greatly disapprove of this, but he shrugged it away.

_This is my life, _Bearclaw reminded himself. _And it includes helping Goldwing and his friends._

**...**

After the inside of the temple was cleaned up, Bearclaw had picked up his stuff and padded to his room. He was following Ashfeather down a hall to a door, happy to be among new friends now. Once the door was opened, he peered inside and looked around. It was a little empty, but with a little decorating, it would make him feel at home.

"So here you go, Bearclaw. Home sweet home!" Ashfeather mewed hurriedly. "I guess...you know...for now. You can start unpacking your stuff if you want. We'll be going out to hunt soon. Uh...welcome aboard?"

Bearclaw nodded with a smile. He realized he felt like an apprentice again...but by being around these cats, he would feel better training with them more than with Frostfire. Seeing the smile on his face, Ashfeather padded outside to join Goldwing, mewing, "Yeah, this is really weird."

And with that, they padded away.

So Bearclaw flung his stuff onto the nest, leapt up, and started unpacking. He pulled out a picture of his uncle Irontail, wishing he was still here beside him. And as he did so, he recalled being back in the temple many moons ago, still recovering from his wounds.

"If I have to, I will spend the rest of my life hunting the Avatar Cat," his past self snarled. "I know it's my destiny to capture him and restore my honor."

The present Bearclaw sighed at this. He was happy now to train with Goldwing, not try and capture him just to please Darkstar.

"You know, Bearclaw..." Irontail was meowing, padding up beside him, "...destiny is quite a funny thing. You never know how things will work out. But you keep an open mind and an open heart, and you will find your own destiny someday. I promise."

Bearclaw nodded silently, realizing that his destiny had come today. He wished he had not turned against his uncle at BoulderClan; that way, he would be here today. But he knew Irontail would be very proud of him for going down the right path and choosing loyalty and friendship over honor and luxury. So Bearclaw leapt onto the windowsill and looked up to the sky, the sun shining brightly down through the window.

_Uncle...I did it. I'm walking down the path of righteousness. And I hope to see you again._

"Hello. Fitting in well?"

Bearclaw quickly turned about, startled at the cold voice behind him. It was Silverheart, standing in the shadows, her dark blue eyes glittering at him with hatred. Not wanting to get to her bad side, he gave her a friendly smile.

"Hey, Silverheart," he purred in reply. "I'm gonna try and fit in well. Maybe we can-"

But Silverheart hissed quickly, making him shut up. She stalked forth and leered up at him as she snarled, "Before you say anything else, you bastard, let me give you a little warning."

He nodded.

"You might have everyone else here falling for your little so-called 'heel face turn', but you and I know you've struggled with doing the right thing. So let me tell you something right now," she went on, unsheathing her claws. "You take one step back, one slip, or even give me one reason to think you could hurt Goldwing...and you won't worry about your destiny anymore. Because if you turn against Goldwing, I'll kill you right then and there. And your destiny will end..._p__ermanently_."

At this, she turned around abruptly, hitting him hard in the face with her tail before she left.

Bearclaw stared after her, worried about her behavior. He had remembered her as a sweet and kind she-cat when they were trapped together. Was she really that livid about what he had done? And would she really kill him on the spot if he strayed off the good path?

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Man...that was harsh.**

**Zuko: I know. But Katara told me she was sorry for giving me a hard time. She's a good friend.**

**AvatarCat12: Yep. And your cat form is now an AvatarClan warrior!**

**Zuko: (Smiles) Yep. I'll go and say the review thing and the preview for The Ultimate FireBenders. (To the readers) Read and review, everyone. Since Survivor Dogs came out on Tuesday August 21, you can get a plush doll of either Lucky or any of the other dogs in the book. We don't allow any flames or I'll burn them with MY flames, but we do allow advice and constructive criticism.**

**Preview: Now that Bearclaw has joined the pack, Goldwing is ready to FireBend. But he can't do it properly yet...and Bearclaw's FireBending vanishes! So they have one choice to go to learn FireBending: the Sun Temple, where lions guard the ultimate FireBenders. Will Goldwing and Bearclaw have the endurance to learn what they have to know?**

**Both: See ya next time!**


	13. The Ultimate FireBenders

**AvatarCat12: Hey folks! Now we're gonna be going through the quests Bearclaw goes through! Katara isn't here for now, so Aang's here for now.**

**Aang: Right here and ready for updating! We're also gonna experience some bad times along with the good.**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah...but I still don't like how Katara treated Zuko. I mean, I understand how she felt, but how she treated him was harsh.**

**Aang: I know. But remember what I just said. We should leave the past in the past. But anyways, let's go and say the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 doesn't own neither series. He blends them together for fun.**

**Summary: ****Now that Bearclaw has joined the pack, Goldwing is ready to FireBend. But he can't do it properly yet...and Bearclaw's FireBending vanishes! So they have one choice to go to learn FireBending: the Sun Temple, where lions guard the ultimate FireBenders. Will Goldwing and Bearclaw have the endurance to learn what they have to know?**

**Uploading Date: September 8, 2012**

**Both: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Ultimate FireBenders**_

"I know you're nervous, but FireBending in and of itself is _not_ something to be scared of. Just remember that."

It had been a few sunrises since Bearclaw had been invited to join AvatarClan. When Goldwing was ready to learn, the dark tabby had taken him out for training. It felt weird training a cat that was once an enemy, but it felt better than being hunted down all the time. So the first thing he had to teach Goldwing was what FireBending was like.

Goldwing nodded, though he still looked unsure. "Okay. Got it. Not something to fear."

Bearclaw nodded back. "Good. You're learning it. But if you _don't_ respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo dragon!" After Goldwing yelped, he meowed, "Now show me what you've got. Any amount of fire will do."

So Goldwing exhaled, taking in a nervous breath, and attempted to FireBend by swishing his tail around. But all the golden Avatar Cat could make was a small cloud of smoke, which dissipated within a second. Bearclaw frowned at him, which made him smile sheepishly.

"Maybe I need a little more tuition," Goldwing mewed. "Can you show a demonstration?"

"Good idea," Bearclaw agreed, flicking his tail at him. "But you might want to take a couple steps back. It could hurt a novice FireBender."

Goldwing nodded and stepped back, giving Bearclaw some space to perform the move right. Then, when he was ready, he took in a deep breath and swiped at the air. But to his surprise, all that came out was a small pathetic burst of flame. As Goldwing applauded, Bearclaw stared down at his paw in shock, thinking over what just happened.

What had happened to his great FireBending? He thought it did really well when he had been in exile, when he had chased after the Avatar Cat. But now when he had to train Goldwing...it just stopped working.

"What the hell was that?!" he hissed. "That was the worst FireBending I've ever seen!"

"I thought it was nice," Goldwing mewed, shrugging.

Bearclaw turned around again and FireBended in rapid succession. To his shock, all his flames were like the first: small and pathetic. The big dark tabby grunted in frustration and stared at his paws, unable to guess what was wrong.

He slashed the ground and spat, "I don't get it! Why is this happening?!"

Goldwing looked up. "Maybe it's the altitude. Should we move to lower ground?"

"Yeah..." Bearclaw mewed, looking away. "...maybe we can."

But he looked away, trying to find out what was up with his FireBending. However, he decided to go ahead and do what Goldwing suggested; maybe the FireBending could recover from a low altitude.

So they had made their way back down the cliffs, not stopping to hunt along the way. Finally, the two toms found a spot lower in altitude: a little courtyard with pillars littering the place. To the right, Goldwing was sitting on a broken pillar, watching Bearclaw get ready to do some classic FireBending.

When he was ready, Bearclaw leapt into the air and swiped at the air. The same thing from a few minutes before had done it again. The former FireClan warrior grunted in irritation and let loose another blast with no improvement. Beside him, Goldwing was yawning and laying down with his head on his forepaws.

"Just breathe, and..." Bearclaw stood straight up, preparing to FireBend again.

"That one felt kinda hot," Goldwing yawned.

Bearclaw spun around, hissing, "Don't patronize me! You know what it should look like!"

Goldwing sat up a bit. "Sorry, Master Hotcat."

"And stop calling me that!" Bearclaw roared, making him cringe.

A thud of pawsteps told them that a new cat was arriving. But it was just Ashfeather padding up to them, a rather small vole in his jaws. Ever since Bearclaw had been accepted into AvatarClan, the dark gray tabby tom had watched him warily. But when he had realized that the danger was gone, he had gone to playfully teasing him. Even though Bearclaw didn't like it, this was a bit better than trying to get Silverheart to be friends with him.

"Hey jerks!" Ashfeather meowed loudly, sounding amused. "Mind if I watch you two jerks do your JerkBending?"

"What the...?" Bearclaw asked, feeling stumped. Then he snapped, "Would you get outta here?!"

Ashfeather stepped back after he swallowed the little vole. "Okay, take it easy. Just a little joke." Padding away, he seemed to mutter, "JerkBending...ha! Still got it!"

Bearclaw lowered his head and let out a groan as Goldwing did the same. There had to be some way to get the FireBending to come out again. Looking up at the sky, he tried one more time to at least make a small flame...a flame of hope. But once again...smoke came out of his claws, thus not making a flame.

This made Bearclaw sigh once again and look down at his unsheathed claws. _How can I ever teach Goldwing FireBending if _my _Bending's gone?_

**...**

Night had fallen over the temple. Bearclaw, who was sitting on a stone, spotted Archie resting near one of the fountains, licking a small pile of stream clams. Even the sight of the white-pelted dragon could not bring him out from the depths of thinking. Maybe Goldwing knew a special place to get FireBending to restart itself; other than that, he was done for.

He turned his head back to the campfire, where everyone had settled down for dinner. Deciding to get this out of the way, he leapt down the stone and stalked quietly towards them.

"Listen, everybody." All the cats turned their heads towards him. "I've got some pretty bad news. Today...I've lost my stuff," he finished, lowering his head dejectedly.

Nightfoot looked around. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff."

Bearclaw looked up at her. "It's not that. I'm talking about my FireBending...i-it's gone," he finished, hanging his head again.

He had done it. He had admitted what was wrong with him during training, he realized as the big tabby cat looked around to see their answers. Ashfeather, Brindleheart, The Dude, and Gray-limp were looking at him on confusion, The Dude sitting up. Goldwing was looking sad about earlier while Nightfoot didn't really have an expression on her face.

But just then, he heard mocking laughter to the side and looked over. It was Silverheart, causing the other cats to look over at her as if she had turned into a wolf before them. This caused his fur to bristle in irritation.

"And what, may I ask, is so funny?" Bearclaw asked her, glaring over at her.

"I'm _sorry_. I'm just laughing at the irony," Silverheart purred with nastiness, a sly sneer on her face. "You know...wouldn't it be for us better if you lost your FireBending a long time ago?"

Bearclaw glared at her, and the others looked dismayed at her picking a fight with him in front of them. And they were shocked she would say such a thing. But he let the insult slide and retorted, "Well, it's not lost. It's just weaker for a very odd reason."

Silverheart glared back at him, crouching over the rabbit she was eating. "Well, maybe you're just not as good as you think you are."

"Hey, that was a low blow," Nightfoot mewled at her.

"I think it's because I became a good cat," Bearclaw added, looking down at his paws.

"Bullshit. No one believes that," Silverheart snapped, going back to eating her catch.

Bearclaw sighed at her arrogant attitude. Ever since he had joined AvatarClan, the silver tabby she-cat had treated him coldly with little to no respect. Whenever he would invite her to hunting or something else, she would refuse and give him some slight insult, making his claws sink into the ground. He wanted to shove the insults she just hurled at him down her throat, but he didn't want to.

_What happened to that kind she-cat I met at BoulderClan?_

"Maybe not," Goldwing put down her earlier insult. To Bearclaw, he meowed, "Perhaps your FireBending comes from rage, and you don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."

"So what we need to do is to piss Bearclaw off?" Ashfeather asked impishly. "That sounds good enough for me!"

At this, he began poking the large tabby tom on the face and chest, making him growl.

"Knock it off!" Bearclaw spat. This made Ashfeather stop what he was doing and slink away. He saw Silverheart glare over at him in pure hatred after what she saw, but Bearclaw shrugged it off. He went on, "Look, even if you're right...I don't wanna rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"From what I'm hearing, you're gonna need to learn to draw your FireBending from a different source," Nightfoot spoke up, having dragged a shrew over to her chest. "Try the original source."

"How's he supposed to do that?" Ashfeather asked the black cat. "By jumping into a volcano?"

Nightfoot swallowed her shrew before going on. "No. He needs to go back to whatever the original source of FireBending is."

Ashfeather narrowed his pale blue eyes. "So it IS jumping into a volcano?"

"I dunno. For EarthBending, the original benders were woolly mammoths."

Bearclaw raised his head when he heard this. He hadn't heard any of the cats except Silverheart talk about their past before.

"One day, when I was a kit and a kittypet, I ran away and hid in a cave," Nightfoot began. "I had wanted to explore and play, but I got lost and began crying in fear. A fox was in there and tried to eat me, but that was when I met them: the woolly mammoths. They had chased off the fox and sniffed me out before knowing I was harmless. And since they were cave mammoths, they were blind just like me, so we understood each other. I learned EarthBending not just as fighting or self-defense, but also as a sixth sense. For them, it was not only about fighting; it was their way of interacting with the rest of the world."

Hearing this, Bearclaw imagined a tiny kit form of Nightfoot crying and whimpering as a fox stalked towards her. He could also see the mammoths chasing it off and showing her the ways of EarthBending. Now Bearclaw wished his uncle Irontail taught him about the creators of the arts of FireBending.

"Great StarClan, Nightfoot! That's amazing!" Goldwing stated. "I learned from the monks, but the original AirBenders were Asian Lung dragons. Maybe you can give me a lesson or two sometime, buddy!" he added to Archie.

The dragon growled in reply.

"Well, this doesn't help me," Bearclaw meowed. "The original FireBenders were-"

"Griffins?" Brindleheart spoke up.

Bearclaw shook his head. "Yeah, but they were a different species. They were fire griffins, great beasts with the colors of leaf-fall. Besides, they're extinct."

Goldwing tilted his head to one side. "What do you mean? Whitestorm had a griffin, and there were plenty of them when I was a kit."

"Well, they aren't _alive_ anymore, okay?!" Bearclaw spat, getting defensive.

Goldwing lowered himself to the ground in regret. Silverheart's gaze, which had softened when she heard Nightfoot's story, hardened as she glared once again at Bearclaw. He knew he would have to control his temper or she would attack him for the slightest scratch.

So he mewed, "Sorry, Goldwing. But there's gotta be another way. The first cats to learn from the fire griffins were the ancient Sun Soldiers."

"Sun Soldiers?" Goldwing asked. "I know they weren't around when I was a kit."

"Right. They died off countless moons ago, but their empire wasn't too far from where we are now," Bearclaw meowed. "Maybe we can learn something by exploring their ruins."

Goldwing nodded. "Maybe. It's like what the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present."

"So...what?" Ashfeather's voice made both toms turn to him. "Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Soldier energy just by standing where they stood StarClan knows how long ago?"

Bearclaw nodded. "Most likely. And if I can't find a new way to FireBend, Goldwing has to find a new FireBending mentor."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldwing and Bearclaw had left the Western AirClan camp before dawn, ready to get most of the journey out of the way. He did not want to keep searching for a new FireBending mentor now that he just got one. The golden cat had been afraid of using FireBending, knowing that it was alive and fierce like a starving cat.

Then he thought back to riding on Archie. Before, Silverheart and Ashfeather had felt as ease with Archie making his way through the sky slowly. Even Nightfoot, the cat with a mind as tough as stone, was patient enough with Archie. Yet Bearclaw...was a different story.

"We've been riding for hours," the large tabby muttered, glaring down to Archie's front. "I don't wanna be a whiner at all, but can't this thing go any faster?"

Archie growled in reply.

"Archie's right," Goldwing told Bearclaw. "In our pack, we usually start out our missions with a happier attitude!"

Bearclaw lowered his head onto his paws and muttered, "I can't believe it. I'm talking to an overgrown kit."

Goldwing just smiled at him, ignoring the insult. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

He gave the command for Archie to go faster, and the white-furred dragon did so. He slammed his tail down to gain some speed and soared through the cloud at a faster speed. Up ahead, the two cats could see a large island not far away over the horizon, seeing some birds fly from above the trees. And below Archie, strange pink dolphins were leaping out of the water, their pink skin glittering in the dawn light.

When they got near, they spotted something spectacular. A bunch of ruins with a very impressive architecture rose up from one of the lowest mountains in the area. Both cats looked down at the ruins, looks of surprise on their faces; Goldwing himself had never even been there before. And as soon as Archie landed, the cats left him in a little wooded area and padded through a small "valley".

"Even though these buildings are old, there's something weirdly familiar about them," Bearclaw began to meow. "I can tell the Fire Elder Sages' temples are somehow originated from these."

"Okay, so we learned something about architecture," Goldwing mewed a bit keenly. "Hopefully, we can learn something about FireBending too. The past can be a great mentor."

But suddenly, he yelped as he tripped over a little wire near the ground. Now the ground in front of them dropped to reveal a bed of black deadly spikes, spikes that resembled the tail spikes of a Stegosaurus. He exhaled a huge gust of air from his mouth to prevent himself from falling into the trap and propelled himself across it, landing rather unevenly to the other side. Goldwing struggled to control his balance, flailing about as he stood on one hind paw. Thankfully, he got himself to go back to all four paws.

"I think the past is trying to kill me!" he yowled to Bearclaw.

On the other side, the former FireClan cat bent his head low and sniffed the wire. "I can't believe this. This booby trap must be eras old, and it _still_ works!"

Goldwing looked around him. "There's probably a lot more. Maybe this means we shouldn't be here."

Bearclaw took a small step back, making Goldwing think he was going to back away from the challenge. However, to his surprise, he ran forth and leapt off the edge, easily sailing over the spikes and landing beside the golden tom. Goldwing had never seen a great leap like that before from a non-AirClan cat.

"Come on, Goldwing. Where's that happy attitude you were talking about?" Bearclaw panted. "Besides, cats don't make traps unless they've got something they want to protect."

So they padded around for a bit, stopping to explore and hunt, before they arrived at their next stop. They had arrived a rather grand and elaborate structure that seemed to be intact. Goldwing and Bearclaw began climbing up the loose rocks around the structure until they made it to the top.

"This seems assuring," Goldwing mewed, looking at a statue. It was a carving of a lion in the middle being surrounded by circles of fire breathed out by two griffins on each side. "Though I don't know what this tells us about the original source of FireBending."

Bearclaw narrowed his amber eyes. "They look angry to me."

Goldwing looked back at the statue. "I thought the griffins were friends with the Sun Warriors?"

"Well, they had a funny way of showing it," Bearclaw growled as he looked away and took a few steps.

But by the way he sounded so mysterious, Goldwing realized he was hiding something. There had to be more to what happened to the fire griffins. So when his new friend was padding away, he leapt in front of him to stop him from taking another step.

"Something happened to the fire griffins in the last fourteen years," Goldwing meowed, his tail held up. "Something you're not telling me, Bearclaw."

Bearclaw looked like he wanted to avoid the question as he looked to the side. But finally, he sighed, "My great-grandfather Shadowstar...that's what happened."

Goldwing's eyes widened as they padded across a stone bridge with dragon protrusions at the side.

"He started the custom of hunting fire griffins for glory. They were the ultimate FireBenders. And if you could defeat one, your FireBending talents would become fabled, and you'd earn the honorary title 'Griffin.'" They reached the end of the bridge, stopping at two griffin statues at the end. One of the statues was missing a head, which Bearclaw patted near its clawed feet. "Before my sister and I were born, the last great fire griffin was killed off by my Uncle Irontail."

But I thought your Uncle was a good cat?" Goldwing asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. He had always thought that the gray tabby tom was a kind, old, and gentle cat.

Bearclaw sighed again. "He had a difficult past. Family tradition, I guess. Let's move along."

Not long into their journey, they arrived at a pillar with a red jewel embedded in the center. The column stood in front of a huge building with two canary-yellow doors. Bearclaw and Goldwing padded towards the doors, Goldwing slipping ahead. He dropped his staff and tried to open them by head-butting, but it was no use. Bearclaw pulled him back, but the golden cat had a bloody bruise on his head now.

When he was pulled back, Goldwing panted, "It's locked up..."

Bearclaw licked the blood off his head and mewed, "It's a celestial calendar. Just like the Elder Sages have in their temples. I bet the Sun Stone opens this door, but it's only when the light of the sun touches it at the right angle on the solstice."

He looked behind him and stepped aside to reveal the red jewel from the column beaming light on his head. He moved to the side some more until the beam of red light now rested on a circle on the ground. Goldwing realized that this was just like with the leaf-bare; some light had to touch a certain stone until the door opened or a statue activated.

"Badger shit!" he hissed in vexation. "The solstice _again_? A _greenleaf _solstice? We can't wait here that long!"

"You're right. We shouldn't have to wait for too long." Bearclaw unsheathed a long foreclaw and laid it in the path of the red beam. "We might be able to speed time up. Let's see if we can outsmart the Sun Stone."

He held his claw out some more and tried to redirect it towards the red stone above the door. The beam of light was moving shakily across the doors and successfully hit the Sun Stone. Just then, it began to glow brightly, but so far, this was all it was doing.

"...nothing's happening," Goldwing just meowed.

Bearclaw hissed, holding his claw in place, "Come on..."

But just when he mewed this, the earth beneath them began to rumble; Goldwing supposed the big tabby had hit the right place. The rumbling stopped...and the door opened up all by itself. This left the two cats amazed at how that worked.

"You know, Bearclaw...I don't care what everyone else says about you," Goldwing mewed, nudging him playfully by the shoulder. "You're a pretty smart cat."

Bearclaw gave him a smile at this, a genuine smile. Goldwing knew he needed something like that whenever Silverheart would taunt him. He had no idea what was up with his WaterClan crush, but whatever it was, she needed to get over it soon. A meow told him that Bearclaw had just padded up ahead, so the younger cat followed him inside.

But then...he bumped into something and looked up at what it was: an angry face. Goldwing leapt back, yelping in shock.

"Relax. They're just statues," Bearclaw hissed into his ear.

Goldwing nodded and began to look around. The two cats were fenced in by a ring of statues in various fighting positions. The positions of one half of the ring of statues was symmetrical to the other half. Twitching his whiskers, he padded over to an inscription on one of the statues and began to read through it.

"It says this is something called The Griffin Dance," he explained. _Worth trying out, _he thought to himself.

So he laid his staff against the statue, took a step back, and imitated the posture of the statue, a stance like a crane. To his surprise, a plate sank under his paws as he did so. Goldwing took a cautious step off the plate to observe it, and the plate moved back into position. He looked around at the remaining statues, seeing where this was leading to.

_I think these statues are telling us something..._

He got down to all four paws and ran over to fetch Bearclaw, nudging him towards the spot. "Get over here quickly," he mewed. "I want you to dance with me."

"What?" Bearclaw yelped, trying to go the other way.

"Just do it," Goldwing insisted, pushing him towards the statues.

Bearclaw groaned, but he did as he was told anyways. At Goldwing's command, he stood on the other side of where the sinking plates laid at. Looking down, the golden tom mewed, "Let's see if we follow the steps of the statues."

Both of them stepped on the first plate and moved on to the next. One of Bearclaw's hind paws stepped on a plate, mewing in surprise as it sunk under him.

"Don't you see?" Goldwing told Bearclaw as they moved as one. "These aren't just dance moves. These statues are giving us a lesson! I think this is some kind of Sun Soldier FireBending form!"

Bearclaw was moving along the line of statues, his hind paws moving from plate to plate. He got into a swiping position and moved into another position as he swiped his other paw in a low arc over his shoulders. Yet he muttered, "This better teach us some freakin' good FireBending."

Goldwing did the same moves before he moved into a position, his forepaws stretched forward. He bent his torso to the right with his paws stretching while Bearclaw did the same. They had done it; they had completed this "Griffin Dance."

But just then, a loud sound echoed in the room, and a hole appeared in the center of the room. Both tomcats turned to look at it. A dais with a golden egg-like object ascended from the hole and glinted in the light.

"Yeah! We did it!" Goldwing cheered, waving his tail. "Wait, what exactly is that?"

"Some kind of mystical jewel," Bearclaw added.

To Goldwing's surprise, he was padding towards the dais, reaching a curious paw towards it. This made Goldwing stand in the way, yowling, "Don't touch it!"

Bearclaw stared at him in mild surprise. "Well, why the hell not?"

"Remember what happened with those spikes?" Goldwing reminded him. "Look, I'm just very wary of giant glowing gems sitting on daises."

Bearclaw stepped back as if to listen to Goldwing and step away. But then...he padded around the golden tom and arrived at the dais, removing the gem stone. Goldwing could not believe his new friend would do something like that so deliberately and boldly.

"It feels...alive," Bearclaw remarked, pawing at the gem stone like a curious kit. Seeing the look on Goldwing's face, he sighed, "Fine. I'll put it back. Just quit whining about it already."

Goldwing nodded in relief as Bearclaw tried to put back the jewel. But before he could do so, he yelped in surprise as a jet of green slush spurts out from the dais like a water spout. The slush pushed Bearclaw up towards the grating in the ceiling, sticking him there.

"Oh no, it's another trap!" Goldwing whimpered as the doors behind him closed.

More green sticky stuff started to flow from the dais, and Goldwing began to back away warily. High above him, Bearclaw had his back stuck to the grating and struggled to break free, but he and the jewel were held tight by the slush. He tried to struggle again, but it was no use.

"I can't pull free," the dark brown tabby cat panted. "It's like some kind of glue!"

Goldwing jumped across the slush to grab his staff on the other side of the room. He leapt up on the statue's head and AirBended a strong gust of wind towards Bearclaw in an attempt to release him. The force from the wind only pushed moved the FireBender from his back to his front, but he was still stuck. This made Goldwing panic more than ever; they were going to be swallowed in the green slush around them.

The slush was now rapidly rising, and Goldwing tried to pull his staff out of the slush in vain. He jumped up towards the grating as the slush rapidly engulfed the room. The AirClan warrior tried to claw apart the grating, recalling Nightfoot's MetalBending, but it was no use.

"I can't move!" Goldwing yelped helplessly. "Do something, Bearclaw!"

Bearclaw hissed back, "Me? I can't move either!"

The two cats groaned in discomfort as a result from the pressure of the slush pushing them up against the grating. But suddenly, the goop stopped pressing against them and froze in place. Now there was nowhere to go.

"...it stopped," Goldwing mewed.

Bearclaw nodded. "Well, at least we have air. Maybe if we stay calm and think, we can figure a way out of this."

So the cats began to think over what to do, but they had nothing to think about at the moment. This made Goldwing almost wish they had never come to the ruins and got themselves into this mess. But as he thought about getting something to eat, he knew they couldn't leave without getting some prey and water.

Hours later, when night fell over the land, the two cats were still in the same position a few hours earlier. Goldwing glared at Bearclaw. "You just HAD to pick up that glowing egg, didn't you?"

Bearclaw retorted, "At least I _made_ something happen. If it were you, we'd never make it pass the courtyard."

"Hhheeelllppp!" Goldwing screeched into the night air.

"Dammit, Golding! Who are you yowling to?" Bearclaw hissed. "No one's lived here for many moons."

Goldwing turned to him. "Well, what do _you_ think we should do?"

Bearclaw looked down at his only free paw. "Think about our place in the Circle of Life?"

"...this was gonna be a long night," Goldwing sighed, looking down too.

"Who is down there?" a gruff voice growled.

They looked up and yelped in shock at the creature above them. It was a massive lion in tribal gear, wearing a chieftain's hat and war paint on his face. He also had a thick red mane with smooth locks and bright amber eyes. The lion was glaring sternly down at the two cats, who were shocked by a presence of a cat in the supposedly abandoned ruins.

_Great StarClan! An actual lion here! _Goldwing thought. But seeing the lion's glare, he thought, _But what will he do to us?_

**...**

It was a matter of time before Goldwing and Bearclaw were freed, but they were still covered in the goo. Anteaters were sitting on either side of them and licking the goo off. They were walled by semi-circles of lions and lionesses wearing gear identical to the chief's. Four warriors were holding a small flame in their jaws while the rest of the pride was behind them. Lion cubs the size of a normal cat gaped at the cats while their mothers shooed them away gently.

"For trying to take our Sun Stone and invading our territory, you must be severely punished!" the chieftain, whose name was revealed to be Mufasa, snarled.

"We didn't want to take your Sun Stone. We want to find the ancient origin of all FireBending," Bearclaw replied.

"Lies," a skinny male lion with a dark pelt and a black mane sneered. "They are thieves, here to steal Sun Soldier treasures."

Goldwing knew one way to try and get them out of this mess. So he pulled on a confident face and meowed, "Please...I don't normally do this, but...I'm the Avatar Cat." As the dark lion shared a look with Mufasa, he went on, "Just hear us out."

So he let Bearclaw speak.

"I am Bearclaw, deputy of FireClan...well, I used to be the deputy," the dark tabby tom began. "I know my Clan has disfigured the ways of FireBending, to be fueled by anger and rage. But now I want to learn the true _original_ way. When we came here, I never imagined the Sun Soldier Pride was secretly alive. I am truly humbled to be here before you. Please teach us," he finished as he and Goldwing bowed their heads down in respect.

Mufasa looked down at the two cats, his face set into thinking. Finally, he meowed, "If you wish to learn the ways of the Sun, you must learn them from the masters Resh and Zek."

"Resh and Zek? There are two masters?" Goldwing mewed.

"Yes. When you show yourselves to them, they will inspect you on sight. They will read your hearts, souls, and ancestry." He took a large step towards Bearclaw and towered over him. "If they deem you worthy, they will teach you. If they don't, you will be destroyed on the spot."

Goldwing and Bearclaw shared a worried look at this. Would the masters really slaughter them on the spot like lambs being led to slaughter?

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"If you're going to see the masters, you must bring them a piece of everlasting flame," Mufasa was saying. Bearclaw and Goldwing were sitting in front of the lion chief, who was standing in front of a fire source. The eternal flame was burning fiercely as Mufasa went on, flicking his tail to it with pride, "This fire is the very first one. It was given to Man by the dragons of the past, but after Man vanished, it was given to all cats by griffins. We have kept it going for thousands of years."

Bearclaw looked amazed. "I don't believe it."

Mufasa nodded. "Both of you will take a piece of it to the masters, to show your promise to the sacred art of FireBending."

But Goldwing felt nervous about meeting the masters. So he meowed, "Um...Mister Mufasa, sir? I'm not a FireBender yet, so can my friend carry my fire for me?"

"No," Mufasa replied sternly as he turned to the fire. "You must carry it yourself."

Goldwing lowered his head, uneasy about what they were going to do next. He felt like he was not ready to do this yet, but he didn't want to think about it right now. They watched as Mufasa swiped his paw over the fire and "pulled" it towards his pads. The lion chief turned a full circle and split the fire into two, making Goldwing gaze in awe.

Then Mufasa began, "This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Soldier philosophy. You must maintain a constant heat. The flame will go out if you make it too small. Make it too big, and you might lose control."

Goldwing felt nervous about this, for he was sure the flame he would carry would already be too small. He looked over at Bearclaw, who was staring nonchalantly at the flame and proceeding to balance the flame on his nose. He looked over at Goldwing, who squeaked when he saw the little flame balanced perfectly on his nose.

"Sorry. I'm just a little nervous," he mewled, stepping forward to gather it onto his nose. The fire grew slightly, and he felt relieved and in awe. "Wow...it's like a little heartbeat."

"Fire is life, not destruction. You will take your flames up there," Mufasa said, pointing his muzzle to a rocky mountain nearby. When the cats turned their heads towards that direction, the chief went on, "The cave of the masters is beneath that rock. Good luck."

Goldwing nodded, smiling as he tried to reassure that what Mufasa said was true. His former master in FireBending had said that fire was dangerous and alive...but maybe this kind could be powerful and passionate. So he followed Bearclaw away from the pride of lions and began their trek towards the mountain.

The two toms had padded through a forest, seeing varying plant and animal life along the way. A few elk were watching them as they chewed on leaves from the lowest branches. Soon enough, they had reached a steep grassy hill and were climbing up. Several antelope were looking up at them before going back to grazing. Goldwing was lagging behind while Bearclaw had reached the top of the hill and looked back.

"Hurry up!" he called.

"I can't," Goldwing called back, staring cross-eyed at his rather small flame. "If I walk too fast, my flame will die out."

Bearclaw sighed a bit before he called back, "Your flame's gonna go out because it's too small. You're too nervous! Give it some more grrr!"

Goldwing cautiously climbed his way up the hill and looked worriedly at Bearclaw. "But what if I can't control it?"

"You can do it. I know you can," Bearclaw meowed, giving him a small smile. "You're a talented cat."

This made Goldwing feel a bit better about himself as he smiled. He leapt up a few rocks and continued to follow Bearclaw to their destination. With this kind of faith, Goldwing knew they could make it in talking with the masters.

Dusk fell over the land as the two cats just arrived at their destination. The lion pride was already there and poised in an alternating standing and sitting position; even the cubs were there, playing around with rocks, lizards, and each other. Goldwing and Bearclaw looked up at the U-shaped rock with a bridge in the center, Mufasa sitting before it. The dark lion was there, glowering at them with his narrowed green eyes.

Mufasa began speaking, "Facing the ruling of the FireBending masters will be very dangerous for you. Remember, your ancestors are responsible for the loss of the fire griffins," he added to Bearclaw, who looked down in shame. "So the masters might not be so happy to see you."

"I know _I_ wouldn't be," the dark brown lion sniffed.

Goldwing tried to speak up, "But once they find out I'm the Avatar Cat..."

"They will not be fooled by that trump card," Mufasa snarled, shoving his huge face into his. "Have you forgotten that you vanished, allowing FireClan to ruin the world for fourteen years? So the decline of the fire griffins is your problem too."

Then the chief stuck his staff into the ground as several lions got into a readying position at both sides of the staff. Mufasa swiped a section from each flame and placed it onto the Sun Soldiers' paw pads. They moved away just when their leader removed his staff from the ground. One lion received a flame and Bended it around in a circle a few times before a lioness standing behind him Bended a small part of the flame towards her and repeated the process.

Out of the corner of his mouth, Goldwing uttered to Bearclaw, "We could go back. We already learned more about fire than we hoped," he added, balancing the fire on his nose and giving a weak smile.

"No," Bearclaw meowed, not turning around. "We're gonna see this through to the end. We'll go meet these masters and find out what's so great about them."

"What if they judge us and attack us?" Goldwing mewled. He did not want to imagine the sharp talons of griffins slashing into his pelt and creating a bloody mess.

Bearclaw unsheathed his claws to stress the point and smiled. "Well, we're the FireClan deputy and the Avatar Cat. I think we can take them in a fight, whoever they are. We're warriors, and warriors fight until the end."

He gave Goldwing a small smile while the golden tomcat nodded back. But he was also worried about how this would all turn out. Every tick of waiting was like waiting for an execution to take place. To put his worried troubles behind him, Goldwing looked over at the lion pride finalizing the passing of the flame.

"Bring 'em out," Bearclaw finally meowed, taking a step forth and looking confident. Goldwing was amazed to see how brave and determined the dark tabby tom was; come to think of it, he was getting to be less like Tigerstar after all.

Mufasa nodded and turned to some lions. "Chanters! Music, please!"

African music rose into the air, and the sitting lions beat in matched rhythm on their drums. The soldiers holding the circle of flame remained in their positions. Goldwing and Bearclaw walked over to see the lions rising and bowing alternatively. They looked up at the long flights of stairs while Mufasa and two lions stepped aside to let them pass.

Bearclaw and Goldwing glanced at each other, and both took a deep breath before padding up the stairs. As the two cats climbed up the steps, he looked back to see the lions still beating the drums. He wanted to go back and deal with it later, but he pressed forward, knowing he had no choice now. If he was going to save the world and defeat Darkstar, then he had to be ready for anything coming his way.

_StarClan willing..._

When the two cats were halfway there, they looked down to see Mufasa looking at their progress at the bottom. Goldwing did not stop to pick out small pebbles between his claws as the setting sun shone upon them, turning Bearclaw's pelt to a russet brown. The music stopped when they finally reached the top. Both of them looked at the caves on each side of the bridge.

Using a shell-like object to amplify his voice, a lion roared, "Those who wish to meet the masters Resh and Zek shall now present their fire."

Hearing this, the two cats at the top turned towards the caves and bowed down, their muzzles almost touching the ground. They could hear Mufasa roar, "Sound the call!"

A dark golden lion lifted its head into the air and let out a loud roar. The loud sound the mighty roar had produced sent a flock of birds fleeing in the setting sky. The cave Goldwing was facing suddenly began to tremble and vibrate as the rocks in front of the caves crumbled down. Fear flooding through him, Goldwing leapt back, unknowingly dousing his flame.

"What's happening?" he hissed to Bearclaw.

The cave Bearclaw was looking at was still undisturbed. However, the dark tabby was giving him a puzzled look, but Goldwing didn't know why. But when he bowed his head down again, he looked down at his muzzle and understood: his flame was gone.

Gasping, he quickly turned to Bearclaw, whispering, "My fire went out."

Bearclaw looked at him from the corner of his injured eye. "What do you want _me_ to do?"

"Gimme some of yours," Goldwing meowed, reaching forward.

"No. Make your own," Bearclaw hissed, gently pawing him away.

Goldwing reached for the flame again, mewling, "I can't!"

Bearclaw pawed him away again, snarling, "Get some from the soldiers. Hurry! Stop cheating!" But his voice was raised as it reached down to the lion pride. The chief, who seemed to have heard the commotion, shared confused looks with another lion.

"Quit being mean!" Goldwing whined.

He continued to reach for the other flame, but he was unable to do to Bearclaw being bigger than him. Bearclaw raised his head higher so the flame remained out of Goldwing's reach, and the gold-furred tom tried to grab it by leaping onto Bearclaw's back and flailing his forepaws. He used his paws to grab the flame from the tabby's nose, and they struggled fleetingly before Bearclaw bowed his head quickly, snuffing the flame.

_Oh shit! _Goldwing yelped quietly as he shared a worried look with Bearclaw. _What are we gonna do now?_

One of the caves began to tremble as the cats turned to it. But suddenly, a pair of bright yellow eyes appeared from the darkness and began to glow. Then...a massive black griffin flew out of the cave, screeching so loudly that it temporarily deafened them. The great huge creature circled around the bridge and the duo as the cats were overwhelmed by the powerful winds and lurched slightly. Goldwing was amazed to see Bearclaw look so shocked and scared as his golden eyes trailed the griffin's flight pattern.

Just then, a white griffin came soaring out of the other cave and joined its companion in circling around each other, the bridge, and the cats. The latter followed their flight patterns, the feathers of the griffin glowing in the sunlight like fire.

"These are the masters..." Bearclaw gasped, looking at the griffins' diving moves.

"You still think we can take 'em on?" Goldwing whispered to him.

Bearclaw hissed from the corner of his mouth, "I never said that!"

While the griffins circled in the air and created powerful winds, Goldwing and Bearclaw looked behind them to look at the Sun Soldiers. The lions were all bowing down now, Mufasa joining them, and even the lion cubs joined in.

"Oh, here it comes," the dark brown lion hissed excitedly, kneading his paws on the rocks. "Any moment now...dinner for the masters..."

"Silence, Taka," Mufasa growled.

Taka sulked and turned away. "What? Everyone else is thinking it."

Back at the bridge, the griffins still flew in an elegant creation of turns, twists and curves. As he watched them, Goldwing was strongly reminded of something he had done earlier, but he could not remember what. But as he saw the griffins twirl and dance in the air, he realized it now. He knew that dance from anywhere; it was the dance he and Bearclaw had done before they were captured by the Sun Soldiers.

So he whispered to Bearclaw, "I think we have to do the Griffin Dance with them."

"What?" Bearclaw hissed back. "What the hell made you think they want us to dance?"

"Well, I think they want us to do something," Goldwing replied. "Let's just try it."

Bearclaw glared at him, his yellow eyes narrowing. Finally, he huffed, "Fine. I hope you're right about this, Goldwing."

So they got into the first position of the Griffin Dance on their hind legs and went on to the next. Goldwing spread his forelegs out, and the white griffin behind him followed the shape he was making. Then Goldwing turned his forelegs to his side, and the griffin turned as well. Bearclaw was thrusting a paw up, and the black griffin behind him did the same in return, following the dark brown tabby tom as he dipped low to the ground.

Turning to the side, Goldwing saw the griffins moving to the same movements and balanced to one another. He turned back as the two cats were slowly heading towards each other, the griffins adding their movements. Finally...at long last...the two cats got into their final pose. When this happened, the griffins stopped and flapped their long wings on either side of the bridge.

"Judgment time," Mufasa roared.

The white griffin glared down at Bearclaw, who stared up at it in awe while Goldwing shook all over in fright. He gave out timid unsure yelps as the griffins settled into another position with their legs being anchored at the bottom of the bridge, their arms bracing their weight at the top. Finally, the black griffin opened its beak and began to breathe fire, its white-feathered comrade doing the same. Goldwing and Bearclaw yelped in shock as they were submerged by a rapidly rising multi-colored flame.

But as they looked up to the eye of the vortex, the two cats stopped cringing and stayed in their positions, shell-shocked at the sight. Loads of multi-colored flames danced around them, looking like the spirits of StarClan were dancing around them in an eternal rainbow. Goldwing felt his eyes glow as the fire reflected off his pupils while he gaped on in amazement. This was one of the most beautiful things he had ever witnessed.

"I understand now..." Bearclaw meowed, his face calm yet amazed at this amazing sight.

The flame slowly dissipated, and the griffins sprang up and circled each other just one final time before retreating to their caves. The lions gazed up in wonder except for Taka, who was annoyed that nothing had happened to them. A brown lion held the circle of fire as he moved his foreleg in a circle, dousing the fire and ending his paws in a position Goldwing recognized from the FireClan school he had went to for two days.

At last, the lions let out roars of approval as the two cats began padding down the stairs. His paws feeling like lead, Goldwing padded beside Bearclaw, unable to get the spectacular fire out of his mind. Now he wondered if this was what fire was supposed to be like.

"Their fire was beautiful," Bearclaw meowed, looking back as if expecting to see it again. "I saw so many colors, colors I've never imagined in a fire."

Goldwing nodded in agreement. "Like FireBending harmony."

"Yes." Mufasa had greeted them at the bottom of the stairs. "They judged you and gave you visions of the true meaning of FireBending."

Bearclaw nodded blankly. "I can't believe there are still living griffins. My Uncle Irontail told me that he battled the last griffin and killed it."

"So your uncle lied?" Goldwing asked.

Mufasa smiled down at the cats. "Actually, it wasn't a total lie. Irontail was the last foreigner to face the masters. They deemed him worthy and passed the secret to him as well."

Goldwing saw Bearclaw's golden eyes widen when he heard this. He figured Irontail had been keeping a secret all along, but he had not known what it was until now.

"He must have lied to protect them..." Bearclaw was meowing. "...so that no one else would hunt them."

Now Goldwing knew that this changed things for him as well. So he stepped forth and mewed, "I always thought FireBending was destruction. Ever since I hurt and almost killed Silverheart, I was afraid and fearful. But now I know what it really is: energy and life."

Bearclaw nodded. "Yeah. It's like the Sun, but it's inside of you. Do you guys know that?"

"Well, our civilization _is_ called the Sun Soldiers," Mufasa replied, his red mane bright ruby in the dying sunlight. "So...yes, we know that."

"That's why my FireBending was weak; it wasn't because I changed sides." Bearclaw turned to Goldwing and went on, "For many moons, hunting you was my drive, my purpose. So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner flame. But now...I have a new drive. And that is to help you defeat my father and restore balance to the world and its Clans."

Turning away, he began swiping at the air, producing a rather large-sized flame. Goldwing then followed what his new friend had done...and a rather large flame shot out from his claws and surrounded him. The golden Avatar Cat gazed at the flying flames in delight, happy that he had finally conquered his fears of FireBending. Now he realized that with the proper training, he would learn all the elements and be ready to save the world.

After the cats regrouped, happy at their triumph, Mufasa spoke up seriously, "Now that you two have learned the secrets and know about our pride's existence, we have no choice but to force you to be prisoners to the pride forever...just kidding!" he purred when he saw their shocked looks.

_Whew! _Goldwing thought with relief as he and Bearclaw relaxed. _That was a close one!_

"But seriously," Mufasa added, his face serious again. "_Don't_ tell anyone!"

**...**

Finally, the two cats made it back to the Western AirClan camp, where they were greeted by the other cats. Silverheart had greeted them by teasing Bearclaw harshly about attacking Goldwing, but that was fortunately stopped by showing them their FireBending moves. So all the cats had gathered together to watch them practice the lesson they had learned the day before.

"With this technique the griffins showed us, we would be unstoppable," Goldwing meowed as he and Bearclaw demonstrated the Griffin Dance. As they did the final pose, everyone applauded for them.

Ashfeather was the first to meow, "Yeah, that's a great dance you learned there."

"It's not a dance," Bearclaw told him. "It's a FireBending form."

"Well then, we might as well waltz our way to victory over Darkstar," Ashfeather replied, still sounding amused.

Bearclaw growled, "It's a sacred form that happens to be tons of moons old!"

"Oh really?" Silverheart retorted, though she didn't sound hostile for now. "What's your little form called anyways?"

"Rrr..." Bearclaw hung his head, looking embarrassed. "The Griffin Dance."

This made the group laugh about it while Bearclaw bristled a bit. But remembering that fire was not all about rage and hate, he kept his anger down his throat. To his relief, he felt much better after he allowed himself to calm down after the laughter. But other than that, he was happy about himself and Goldwing finally learning the true meaning of FireBending.

Bearclaw reminded himself to wake Goldwing up every morning and train him in all the FireBending moves he knew. In time, then the Avatar Cat would soon defeat Darkstar and bring him to justice.

_StarClan give us strength!_

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Hope you all like this one! Plus, I decided to choosing lions to be the cat form of the Sun Warriors. Anyways, that was one of the most amazing scenes in the entire series. You and Zuko were lucky to be involved in that, Aang.**

**Aang: (Smiles sheepishly) Yeah. I liked how the dragons merged those colors into the fire. It was like watching fireworks in the sky made by dragons!**

**AvatarCat12: (Chuckles) Yeah...fireworks made by dragons...speaking of that, there's the new show on Cartoon Network called Dragons: Riders of Berk now on there. Have you heard of it?**

**Aang: Yeah. Katara and I might have to look into that. (To the readers) Anyways, folks, before we get to the preview for Boiling Island, we'll get to the reviewing thing. So read and review, folks! Those who do will get either a figurine of the two dragons or a figurine of Mufasa (a character that belongs to The Lion King). Flames aren't allowed on here, but advice and constructive criticism are welcome anytime.**

**Summary: Ashfeather feels like he has let the Clans down by not rescuing the captured warriors in the Dark Sun invasion. So with some help from Bearclaw, they both go to the Heated Island to rescue Emberstar. While there, they meet old friends and new friends, and old foes and new foes. What surprises will they find there? And can they get out of there in time?**

**Both: See ya next time!**


	14. Voyage To Boiling Island

**AvatarCat12: Hey, everyone! I've decided to upload this new chapter today. And for the second part, Sokka is here today to help with the commentaries. Give a round of applause for him!  
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**Sokka: (Comes in and shakes hands with him) Thanks, Avatar Cat! (To the readers) And the other thing is that this'll be a two-parter like the Day Of Dark Sun.**

**AvatarCat12: And for the finale, it'll be a four-parter, so we'll work hard on finishing that. But anyways, Sokka, you wanna say the disclaimer?**

**Sokka: Sure thing, buddy.**

**Disclaimer: Remember, folks. AvatarCat12 doesn't own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. They belong to Michael DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter. And by the way, Yellowfang's Secret is coming out next week!**

**Summary: ****Ashfeather feels like he has let the Clans down by not rescuing the captured warriors in the Dark Sun invasion. So with some help from Bearclaw, they both go to the Heated Island to rescue Emberstar. While there, they meet old friends and new friends, and old foes and new foes. What surprises will they find there? And can they get out of there in time?**

**Uploading Date: October 27, 2012**

**Both: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Boiling Island: Voyage To Boiling Island**_

Bearclaw took a look around the cats, a tray full of bowls at his paws. He held a jug in his jaws and filled up the empty bowls of cream, remembering the days when he was in exile. Irontail would make the best cream he had ever tasted, and he had been happy that his uncle had owned his own cream shop.

Goldwing's FireBending had been improving over the past few days, and Bearclaw was slowly fitting in with the rest of the pack. Silverheart had been less hostile to him for some time, though he was afraid she would lash out again. And Bearclaw had done plenty of stuff around the temple like having a wrestling match with Ashfeather, joining a club he made up, and hearing a tale about Goldwing and his friend Blazepaw saving the fire griffins.

"No one can make cream like Uncle Irontail can. But I hope I learned a thing or two from him," Bearclaw mewed modestly. "Would you like to hear his favorite joke?"

"Sure," Silverheart mewed, sounding nicer than before in the past few days.

Goldwing nodded quickly, mewing, "Yeah! I like jokes."

"Bring it!" Nightfoot called. She was sitting with Gray-limp, who had pulled himself partially out of his wheelchair.

Bearclaw nodded and sat between The Dude and Brindleheart, serving them some cream. "It's not a cream joke, but it's as funny as hell. Well, I can't remember how it starts, but the punch line is, 'Leaf me alone! I'm _bushed_!'" Everyone just gave him blank looks as he padded to Goldwing and Silverheart, adding, "...I think it's funnier when Uncle tells it."

Silverheart shrugged, smiling a bit as she accepted a bowl of cream. "Maybe he just remembers the whole thing. If you ask him, then he can tell you how it went."

Goldwing purred and helped himself to a bowl while Bearclaw smiled and shrugged. Silverheart was certainly warming up to him instead of treating him like a fox in the Clan. If they kept the civil attitudes up, they could get to be good companions.

"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little," Nightfoot mewed as Bearclaw gave her and Gray-limp some cream. "It hardly happens."

Everyone laughed as they all lapped at their cream with their fresh-kill. Bearclaw purred with them, thinking, _So this is what it feels like to be with true Clanmates. Nothing can stop us from saving the Clans now!_

Then he noticed that one cat had not joined in with the laughter. Ashfeather was sitting to the side, his head bent low and his mouth in a slight frown. And from the looks of it, he appeared to be thinking about something. So Bearclaw picked up the last bowl and padded over to the dark gray tabby tom.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Ashfeather meowed as soon as he arrived.

Confused yet wanting to help, Bearclaw nodded and followed Ashfeather out of the camp. The two toms padded to the area where Archie was resting while a few bats flew around in the air.

"What's up?" Bearclaw asked while Archie woke up to look at them.

Ashfeather looked up at the starry sky before turning to the dark brown tabby tom. "If a cat was captured by FireClan, where would they be taken to?"

This made Bearclaw raise a brow. "What do you mean? Who was captured?"

"When the invasion failed, some of our warriors were taken," Ashfeather explained. "I just want to know where they might be taken to."

Bearclaw had heard of this before after he was accepted into AvatarClan. He had heard of how the invasion went; that was also the day he left FireClan willingly to join Goldwing. But he knew that what Ashfeather was asking wouldn't be much to bear.

"I can't tell you," came his reply.

Ashfeather's eyes narrowed. "What? Why not?"

Bearclaw shrugged and started to turn away. "Trust me. Knowing would just make you feel worse. But NOT knowing about it would do you a world of good."

"It's my father," Ashfeather mewed, rapidly getting in the way. "His name's Emberstar, and he's the Southern WaterClan leader. He was also captured in the invasion. I need to know what I put him through."

"It's not good."

"Just...please."

Bearclaw sighed and looked away a bit. He knew that Ashfeather would not stop badgering him until he got some answers. Besides, he had heard Frostfire boast about it, a place where bad cats were taken to so they could pay for their crimes.

So he meowed, "The prisoners would be taken to Boiling Island."

Ashfeather frowned slightly. "Boiling Island. What in StarClan's name is that?"

"It's the highest security prison in FireClan," Bearclaw explained. "It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. The lake is so boiling hot that it could even burn the hide off a cow. In other words, it's inescapable."

"Huh," Ashfeather replied. "So where is this place?"

It was now Bearclaw's turn to narrow his amber eyes. "Why do you need to know, Ashfeather? What're you planning?"

Ashfeather shook his head. "Nothing! You're so paranoid!"

"Well...to let you know, it's in the middle of a volcano between here and FireClan," Bearclaw meowed. "You guys flew right past it on your way here."

"Thanks," the WaterClan warrior yawned as he padded away. "Just knowing that makes me feel better."

Bearclaw watched him pad away, knowing something was up. There had to be a perfect reason Ashfeather wanted to know about the ultimate prison. Perhaps he was planning on sneaking out to try and find Emberstar? This was probably a small fib to go out towards the Boiling Island.

_Yeah, I'm sure it does._

**...**

Ashfeather rose his head up from his nest, looking around to see if they were sleeping. Goldwing and Silverheart were sleeping next to each other; he guessed they still had feelings for each other. Picking himself up from his nest, Ashfeather silently crept around the sleeping cats, taking slow steps towards Archie with his belongings. He let out a sigh after successfully not waking anyone.

_Thank you, StarClan!_

But then, he yelped silently as he looked down at a brown lump on the ground. Feathers sticking out from its back told Ashfeather that he had almost tripped over Tobias. Mewing a little hawk lullaby, he leapt over him and pattered his way over towards Archie. The dragon woke up a bit and groaned, but Ashfeather hissed at him to be quiet, which he did. But what he did not expect as he climbed up was a voice.

"Not up to anything, eh?"

Ashfeather squeaked in shock and lost his grip as he fell down on the hard stone ground with a loud thud and groan. He looked up to see Bearclaw's amber eyes gleaming at him from on the saddle in the dark.

"Fine, you caught me," Ashfeather spat, getting to his paws and putting his stuff back in his bag. "I'm gonna go rescue my dad. You happy now?"

"...I'm never happy."

Ashfeather sighed. "Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was all my idea. It was also my decision to stay when things were going wrong. This is all my fault, and I'm the only one who can fix all this. I have to regain my honor. And Bearclaw, you can't stop me."

Bearclaw leapt off Archie and padded over beside him. "You need to regain your honor? I know what you mean, I'll tell you what. I understand. So I'm going with you."

"No. I'm gonna do this alone," Ashfeather growled, climbing up Archie's saddle.

"How will you get there? Hell, how will you even get there _on Archie_?" Bearclaw retorted. "The last time I checked, prisons don't have dragon nurseries."

Ashfeather stopped climbing and looked back down at the FireClan warrior looking up at him. What Bearclaw had said made some sense to him even more than ever. Archie would be too easy to spot in FireClan skies; he was the last Asian Lung dragon left alive and so vulnerable. And the war balloon could make the FireClan warriors believe they were warriors coming out to help them out.

Bearclaw seemed to have noticed this, for he meowed, "We'll take my war balloon. I used it to get here to the AirClan temple. How about it?"

"...okay, I'm in," Ashfeather finally meowed, sliding down the saddle.

_Don't worry, Dad! We're coming for you!_

**...**

The next morning, Goldwing squinted as he felt the sunlight hit his eyes. The Dude was passing him by with a large rabbit in his jaws as he tossed it into Archie's mouth, Silverheart behind him. Tobias was sleeping on his back with a piece of crumpled paper wrapped around his body like a blanket.

Goldwing yawned as he got up and joined Nightfoot as Silverheart pawed the paper gently away from the sleeping hawk. But as he looked around, he saw that Ashfeather and Bearclaw were also not around.

"What does it say?" Nightfoot meowed.

Silverheart tilted the paper and her head to one side as she read, "'Need fresh-kill. Gone hunting. Be back in a few days. Ashfeather and Bearclaw.'" As Goldwing let out a yawn, the silver tabby cat went on, "'One more thing. Goldwing, practice your FireBending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of fire swipes and ten flame twirls on the nearest branch when you hear a cane toad croak out loud. Bearclaw.'"

Goldwing laid down and curled up into a ball as he prepared to go to sleep. But just then, a loud croaking sound made his eyes open and stare around in irritation. There was a cane toad looking up at him as if daring him to go ahead and eat it. Instead, he heaved himself to his paws and padded over to a nearby dead oak tree.

"No one else has homework," he muttered as he climbed up the oak tree to the highest branch. Holding onto it with his jaws, he let go and began swinging around, meowing, "One flame twirl, two flame twirl, three flame twirl..."

**...**

The cloud shrouded themselves around Bearclaw's war balloon as the burner's flame flared up. It grew bigger for a while before going back to normal size. Ashfeather looked over from the other side to see Bearclaw FireBending into the fuel tank with a paw while he rested.

They looked at each other before Bearclaw began FireBending again. They stared at each other again before looking away in awkward silence. Ashfeather felt that it was still weird to hang out with a cat that used to be enemy, even weirder than a hairless badger. Finally, he looked up to the sky, hoping to wonder how to break up the awkwardness.

So he mewed, "Pretty clouds."

"Yeah," Bearclaw meowed. "Fluffy."

_Smooth one, _Ashfeather told himself sarcastically. Trying to figure out what to say some more, he decided to whistle and stare down at his paws.

Bearclaw was now looking at him with confusion. "What?"

"What? Oh, I didn't say anything." Then Ashfeather went on, "You know...a friend of mine has designed these war balloons."

"No shit," Bearclaw muttered.

Ashfeather nodded. "Yep. A balloon...but it was used for war."

Bearclaw turned back to the tank and started FireBending into it. "If there's one thing my father's good at, it's war," he huffed.

"Yeah, it seems to run in the family, huh?" Ashfeather remarked.

"Hey, hold on." Bearclaw had now faced him again, fire in his amber eyes. "Not all of Tigerstar's descendants are like that."

Ashfeather nodded. "I know that. You've changed."

But Bearclaw looked away, now looking sad. "I meant my Uncle Irontail. He was more of a father to me than my actual father. And I...I let him down. I betrayed him and let him down. I don't deserve the name of warrior for what I did."

This made Ashfeather now feel quite concerned towards the big tabby cat. He remembered meeting the old gray tabby tom, Irontail, a cat who was as jolly as he was wise. If it weren't for his intelligence, Silverheart and Bearclaw would not have been found. He had even heard that Irontail had sacrificed himself to keep AvatarClan safe.

"I think your uncle would be proud of you," Ashfeather meowed, choosing his words. "Leaving your home to come help us...that's hard. But all the same, I'm sure he'll be proud of you."

Bearclaw looked up at him. "It wasn't that hard."

Hearing this, Ashfeather felt a bit surprised. "Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about, did you?"

"Well I did have a mate. Her name was Rose."

"Rose?" Ashfeather was amazed to hear about the knife-wielding she-cat. "You mean that mopey tortoiseshell who sighs a lot?"

"Yeah." Bearclaw had a somewhat goofy grin on his face before he became serious. "Everyone in FireClan might think I'm a traitor. I...I couldn't drag her into it."

Ashfeather looked away. "I know how that feels. My first mate turned into the moon."

Bearclaw looked over at him. "That's rough buddy. Real rough."

Night had fallen over the land sometime after this, and Ashfeather was now sleeping, snoring with his mouth open. He opened one eye a little to see Bearclaw sending a blast of fire into the tank that powered up the war balloon. The big dark tabby closed the door to the tank and dusted his paws off before looking to the side.

"There it is," he suddenly meowed.

Ashfeather woke up right away and leapt over to the edge of the war balloon. They were now nearing a volcano-like area with steam coming out from it.

Bearclaw went on, "There's plenty of steam to keep us covered. As long as we don't make a sound, we should get to steer through it without being caught."

At that, he opened the fuel tank's door and started FireBending into it again. The burner flared weakly, and the war balloon was slowly descending into the crater. Ashfeather looked down at the steaming water, gulping; it did not look like a good place to swim. Not at all. And to make things worse, the burner began to lose its power.

The war balloon began picking up speed as it rapidly went down into the crater, getting lost in the sea of steam. Bearclaw leapt over to the burner and began to rapidly FireBend into the tank. Ashfeather could do nothing but panic, watching as his new ally began working hard to keep them all afloat.

"We're going down!" he yowled. "The balloon's not working anymore!"

Ashfeather tried to keep himself calm and count to ten as he raced over to the other side of the basket. Behind him, Bearclaw had decided to try and FireBend into the vent instead of the tank.

Ashfeather looked around. "The air outside is just as hot as the air inside, so we can't fly."

The basket slanted while Bearclaw fell to his side. Growling, he asked, "So what do you suggest we do?"

"...crash landing?"

Now the war balloon was getting dangerously near the water, the basket touching the surface of the water. Some water splashed onto Ashfeather's paw, making him hiss in pain as he began to lick at it. It was one of the most painful things he had ever felt besides many other things of pain. Thankfully, though, the balloon glided on the water and crashed onto land, shattering the basket into pieces.

Both toms were thrown out of the basket with their belongings. The vent was slowly deflating onto the broken strips of wood and metal. The two warrior cats got up as Ashfeather spat out the stuff in his mouth before they slowly turned towards the carnage. It was done; they were now stranded in the Boiling Island. No turning back now.

"How do we get out of here if the balloon won't work?" Bearclaw growled crossly.

"We'll figure something out," Ashfeather reasoned. "I assumed it might be a one-way ticket."

Bearclaw turned away and began padding around the shore. "You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyways?"

Ashfeather stayed near the wrecked vent. "My father might be here. I had to come and see." At this, he began to gather more of the vent and placed the pieces into the broken basket.

"My Uncle always said I never think things through, but _this_?" Bearclaw meowed, looking even more irritable. "This is just mouse-brained!"

"Hey! I never wanted you to come along in the first place, but you insisted," Ashfeather hissed back, throwing the fallen cloth into the basket. "And of course I always think things through! But my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time, I'm playing it low. So there."

He pushed the basket but yelped as his paw got burnt by the heated basket. So he swiftly drew his paw away before shoving it away with his hind paws. The two cats looked down as the war balloon slowly sank into the water, parts of it burning up now.

"Ashfeather! What the hell were you thinking?" Bearclaw yelped in shock.

"It doesn't work now," the dark gray tabby tom replied. "And we don't want anyone to find it, right?"

Bearclaw sighed as both cats looked around. "I hope you know what you're doing. There's no turning back. We got a mission to do."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The two toms had built small separate holes to spend the night in before they went to the metal building the next day. They had arrived in a dark room with lights only illuminating the shelves full of helmets, shoulder pads, and battle claws. Ashfeather closed the door behind him as the light diminished. Before he could do anything else, he noticed some paint and decided to try and add some more to the disguise.

When Ashfeather and Bearclaw got out of the room, they were fully disguised. Ashfeather was now a ginger-&-white tom with full armor while Bearclaw was the same armor except with gray fur. The mission was getting a bit better and better.

"Ashfeather, these disguises better work," Bearclaw hissed.

"Don't worry," Ashfeather replied. "We just need to lay low and try to find my dad as soon as possible."

Suddenly, the corridor was filled with running warriors. Ashfeather and Bearclaw stepped to the side and grinned nervously, hoping that they wouldn't be noticed. However, one cat turned to talk with them; did they get found out so easily?

But the cat just yowled, "Hey, you two! There's a fight in the yard! Now come on!"

So the two toms ran behind the last of the group. They ran for a bit until they reached the yard, a dull gray area where there was only a pile of rocks nearby. A mass of cats were now forming a circle around two cats in the center as they circled round each other. Ashfeather hoped that one of those cats was Emberstar since one of them was a dark gray cat. But when he looked closely, he saw that it wasn't Emberstar, for his father didn't have a bald tail.

The guards rushed forth and made sure the attackers were pushed to the side while some of the other guards attempted to form a barricade in front of the crowd. The other fighter, a big white tom with jet black paws and hard hazel eyes, glowered angrily around him.

"I ain't doin' nothin'!" the white cat snarled, turning away. "I'm goin' back to my cell!"

"Stop right there, Striker," a tabby cat sneered as he Bended a fire whip and lashed it at his face.

A snarl from behind Ashfeather told him that Bearclaw was glaring angrily over at this scene. He remembered him telling everyone about how he had gotten his scar...from his own father. Why in StarClan's name would a father do that to their own kit? But then, he saw Bearclaw edge his way over to try and interfere.

"Don't." Bearclaw glared at him as the latter grabbed his tail. Ashfeather whispered, "I know you don't like it, but we can't blow our cover."

Bearclaw sighed as he turned to the guard, who was still snarling at Striker, "I have had it up to here with your disobedient behavior. You're behaving like a kit that doesn't want its mother's shelter and nourishment!"

Striker grumbled, "So what? What did I do?"

The bully guard let out a nasty chuckle, turning to Bearclaw and Ashfeather. "Ha! He wants to know what he did. Isn't that cute?" He looked back at Striker as the two cats stared at him in silence, making the guard raised his visor to inspect them.

Ashfeather looked to the side at Bearclaw, who agreed, "Uh...yeah, very cute, sir."

"Super cute," Ashfeather added.

The guard smirked satisfyingly at their answers before turning back to Striker. "You didn't bow down when I walked past you, Striker."

"What?" Striker snarled, sounding livid. "That ain't no prison rule!"

"Do it," the guard sneered.

But Striker stood where he was. "Why don't you try and make me?"

The guard smirked and walked away from Striker, but as he did so, Ashfeather saw him flick his tail at two guards, who dashed out and leapt towards the big white cat. And then...it happened.

As one warrior sailed over Striker, the big cat leapt up and slammed him to the ground, going for the underparts. When he did so, a horrible crunching and splattering sound reached every cats' ears. Striker spat something down to the ground and glared over at his foe, who was screaming in pain and holding his paws over his injured area. This made Ashfeather flinch and realize what had just happened: Striker had castrated an enemy warrior all on his own.

The guard's companion took one look at his fellow guard and turned back to Striker, his voice shaking as he yelped, "Wha..._what the hell did you do?!_"

"You even _know_ how to spell 'annoying?'" Striker hissed, showing his bloody muzzle. "You make it sound like a horsefly. But hey, it suits you. Yet even _I_ don't remember a fly's balls stinkin' _that_ bad."

Across from him, as the castrated warrior was pulled away, the bully guard began to FireBend another whip. The whip lashed out quick at Striker, but the rogue turned around, caught the whip with FireBending from his tail, and sent it back to the guard. Seeing this, the guard Bended the whip away until it dissolved into thin air.

"Ah ah ah. FireBending is banned here. You're going to the Cooler," he sneered, a nasty grin on his face. To Ashfeather, he barked, "You! Help me take him in."

Ashfeather nodded before he turned to Bearclaw. "Meet me back here in an hour."

**...**

Ashfeather squinted as he studied the bumps of the metal building; he supposed those bumps were the coolers. Behind him, Striker was being nudged forth, a chain tied around his neck, but he looked quite brutal. As they stopped at the cooler with two security doors, Ashfeather opened said doors, and water vapor gushed out, chilling the hairs on his pelt.

_DAMN, it's cold in there! _Ashfeather thought. _It's as cold as it was back home!_

"The Warden will deal with you sooner than you think," the bully sneered to Striker as he shoved the big white cat inside. As Ashfeather closed the door, the tabby hissed, "Can you believe him?"

"Yeah," Ashfeather replied, trying to get in with the act. "Prisoners, huh?"

The tabby rolled his eyes. "Ugh. Tell me about it."

Meanwhile, over at the lounge room, Bearclaw was picking up a plate of something that looked like ribs of a pig along with boiled potatoes. Three other warriors were sitting nearby, laughing and purring as they talked and ate. Hoping not to attract too much attention, Bearclaw started to pad behind these cats, feeling his belly gurgle in relief.

"Hey new guy," one of the cats, a black cat purred. "I know it's the rule to have your helmet on at all times, but this is the lounge. Relax!"

Wanting to create a diversion, Bearclaw sat down and meowed, "But what if there's an incident? Someone could cut off my head if I'm not prepared!"

"Just give it some time," the gray she-cat meowed. "Take it easy."

"Okay." Bearclaw took one bite from the pork ribs before looking up. "Since I'm the new guy, can I ask you veterans a few questions about the prison?"

The gray she-cat retorted, "No, you can't date the she-cats here." But she looked amused.

"But seriously, you don't want to," the first guard meowed. Just then, a cup hit his head as the black-&-tan guard behind him laughed out loud.

Bearclaw shook his head. "No, that's not it. The Boiling Island holds FireClan's most dangerous crooks, right? So what about war prisoners? Where do they get war prisoners to get into here?"

Meanwhile, Ashfeather had gone back with the warrior who had bullied Striker in FireBending to the Cooler. He had been called over to see if he had endured enough suffering to be brought out of there and calm down. So he got the chance to peek into the Cooler and see if Striker was doing okay.

Through the window, the big white tom was shivering and was curled up into a ball for warmth. A dark substance around his muzzle told Ashfeather that the blood he got from castrating one of the guards had frozen as he continued to shiver from the cold. Seeing Striker like this somewhat made Ashfeather feel bad for him, but he was amazed to see how he was surviving well in the Cooler.

"It sure looks cold in there," he remarked.

"That's why we call it the Cooler, dumbass. He won't FireBend while he's in there," the bully guard retorted. But suddenly, he looked down the hall and sat up straight, hissing, "The Warden is here! Look alive!"

Ashfeather followed the sitting pose as both cats sat at attention at both sides of the door. The Warden himself had arrived, a black-&-white warrior with a serious look on his broad face. The scars on his ears and face probably meant that he had seen lots of battles and suffered from them. Nodding to the two warriors, the Warden opened the door to the Cooler and glared down coolly at Striker.

"So...Striker..." His voice was thick as he spoke. "I hear you used FireBending to try to escape from here. Not only that, but I also heard you tore the balls off of one of my warriors who guard this place. You should have known better than to do that."

"I-I-I wasn't trying to escape," Striker moaned, shivering from the cold.

"He's lying," the bully guard sneered, peering in. "I saw him with my own eyes."

The Warden pushed him away and meowed on to Striker, "No one has ever escaped. I'd sooner throw myself into the boiling lake than let that record fall. And don't you forget it." And as he turned away, he sneered, "Now go back to your shivering, you piece of shit."

Striker looked weakly at the warden as the door closed in front of him, leaving him in the dark. Ashfeather was strongly reminded of the weather in the North and South Poles, but this...this was too harsh. The coldness was good for cats that lived well in cold climate, but to force that kind of weather onto a cat as punishment...

_No way...that's bad._

**...**

The prisoners were prowling around the yard at the bottom of the gondola tower, bumping into each other or sighing. Bearclaw could see that there was a FireClan insignia stenciled smack dab in the middle of the yard. Bearclaw rested on the railing of a tower, looking down at all the cats down there.

His Clan had done this, he thought in shame. They had taken over the world with an iron paw and were smashing the Warrior Code to pieces with what they did. Bearclaw was going to go back and patrol when a second cat leapt up beside him.

"Yo. What's up?" Bearclaw mewed.

Ashfeather turned to him, his blue eyes lighting up. "Hey Bearclaw!"

Bearclaw raised his tail for silence. "Shh. Listen, I asked the warriors around the lounge if they were keeping any prisoners. But they said no. There are no WaterClan prisoners. I'm afraid your father's not here."

"What?" Ashfeather asked, looking very shocked. "Are you sure? Did you double check?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

The despair was now seen clearly on Ashfeather's face as the WaterClan tom leapt down and sunk to the ground. He mewed in a low voice, "No...no!"

Bearclaw sighed, leaping down and laying a paw on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ashfeather."

"So we came all this way for nothing...I failed," Ashfeather groaned, looking down. "Again."

This made Bearclaw feel even sorrier for the WaterClan warrior. When they had met just eight moons ago, Ashfeather had been a scrawny apprentice who didn't know what he was doing. But now...this brave and intelligent cat was giving up. He recalled Irontail telling him to not fall in to despair or his dark instincts would surface; if he didn't do something, that might happen.

_Hmmm...what would Uncle say?_

So he looked up to the sky and meowed, "Sometimes, clouds have two sides: a dark side and a light side. You know... there's a silver lining in between. It's kinda like a silver bone. So...when life gets you down...just gnaw on the silver bone."

"Hey..." Ashfeather looked up, looking hopeful with a smile appearing on his face. "Maybe we _haven't_ failed after all."

"That's what I'm talkin' about," Bearclaw purred. He mewed half to himself, "Wow...it worked. It actually worked! I didn't even know what I was saying."

_Maybe I AM becoming more like my uncle. And I'm glad of it._

Ashfeather raised a brow at him. "No, you didn't make sense at all. But look! It's Echo!" he yowled, pointing his paw somewhere else.

Bearclaw gave him a rather annoyed look before following his paw. Sitting far away from the other prisoners was a reddish tabby she-cat with blue-green eyes, resting her head sadly on her forepaws. That she-cat looked quite familiar; he recalled seeing a cat like her back when he had attacked Heavyrose Island. Perhaps she was the same leader of the island guards.

"Prisoners! Back in your cells!"

A bell rang out through the yard as Echo got to her paws, leapt down from the rock, and padded slowly after the cats. Ashfeather was staring after her, comically having two heart shapes as eyes as he rushed off. Bearclaw rolled his amber eyes and stalked off after him; despite that, it seemed that Ashfeather had a crush on this cat. This reminded him of when he and Rose were mates, but he had never behaved like this around Rose.

But still...Ashfeather was his friend. So he told himself he would help him find Echo and talk with her.

**...**

The two toms had found Echo, all right. The red tabby island guard was lying down on her nest in her cell, looking as hopeless as ever. Bearclaw could see the desperation on Ashfeather's face, as if he wanted to go in there and help her. So after making sure no other guards were patrolling around this corridor, he gave the WaterClan cat a nod, and he opened the door.

Bearclaw saw Echo raise her head a bit as she watched Ashfeather pad inside, his tail lashing. Then he closed the door and peered through the hole where they would see the prisoners to see what would happen.

Echo sat up and glared at the disguised Ashfeather. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

Ashfeather grinned. "You mean you don't recognize me?"

"You FireClan cats all look the same to me," Echo muttered in disgust, looking to the side.

"Oh," Ashfeather meowed. Then he mewed slyly, "Then maybe you'll recognize this."

He stepped towards her and gently rubbed his cheek against hers. Echo gave a snarl and slapped him across the face with her paw, making him back away. Ashfeather fell back against the door as the helmet fell off his head, some of the dyed coloring rubbing off. He looked surprised at the sudden violence, rubbing the spot where Echo had slapped him.

Then Bearclaw finally saw it. As soon as Ashfeather's helmet fell off and the dark gray fur came, Echo's face changed from anger to confusion, and it finally changed to pure joy.

"Ashfeather," she rasped. "It IS you."

Ashfeather nodded and let her pad forward to embrace him. He returned the same, their necks rubbing against one another and their whiskers stroking each other.

"What about the other island guards?" Ashfeather asked as they broke apart. "Are they here?"

Echo shook her head, worried. "No. I don't know where they are. They locked me here because I'm their leader."

Ashfeather laid his tail gently on her flank. "Well, you won't have to be here for long. I'm gonna get you outta here. "

"I'm just so glad to see you again, Ashfeather," Echo purred, laying a paw gently on his tail. "I knew you'd come."

While the two cats hugged again, they looked in each other's eyes for a moment as they rubbed each other's muzzles. Bearclaw was standing outside the cell as he gave a small smile. This sight somewhat reminded him of himself and Rose if they would see each other again. He hoped she would understand why he had to leave FireClan if she even read the note he left for her.

But suddenly, he smelled a rather unfamiliar scent: a guard walking up the stairs. So he quietly yet quickly knocked his paw onto Echo's cell to warn them. Just then, a gray she-cat had arrived, sniffing around suspiciously.

"'Scuse me, partner, but I need to get into that cell," she meowed.

"No, you can't go in there!" Bearclaw told her. "The lights are out...and the prisoner could sneak up on you. Or they got a live vampire bat in there that can eat you up!"

"No vampire bat can survive on this island, mouse-brain," she growled. "Now stand aside."

But Bearclaw couldn't let her get in there and see Ashfeather and Echo being together. Without thinking, he leapt on top of her and pinned her down on her belly, making her snarl, "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"

Then she maneuvered her way around and pinned Bearclaw against the cell door. But Bearclaw was not willing to give up, for there was one thing he prided himself in being one of the several descendants of Tigerstar: his size and strength. So he tried to balance himself as he attempted to push the female guard back down. Behind him, the door to Echo's cell opened, and Ashfeather snuck out behind them.

However, before he could react, the gray she-cat leapt up and grabbed his throat, trying to drag him down. Bearclaw quickly ripped away, exposing bare skin around his neck, as he quickly pinned her down once again. But as he did so, the she-cat glared over at Ashfeather, who was just sneaking away.

"Guard!" she snarled as Ashfeather cringed and turned around. "This is an imposter! Arrest him! NOW!"

Ashfeather and Bearclaw met each other's gazes, but Ashfeather was now looking very uneasy. Would the disguised WaterClan tom really try and have him arrested?

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Get him off me!" the female guard was snarling at Ashfeather. "Arrest him!"

Ashfeather began stalking forward, forcing Bearclaw to believe he had really gone over to the bad side. Then, as soon as he reached the struggling cats, he grabbed Bearclaw by the scruff and slammed him down to the floor.

"You're under arrest!" Ashfeather growled. But in a low whisper as he helped Bearclaw up, he meowed, "Don't worry. I'm not turning to the bad side. I'll figure this out."

Bearclaw nodded as his friend led him away from in front of Echo's cell. The female guard was sitting up, licking at a bloody spot on her shoulder from where Bearclaw slashed her. But as for the escape plan...now that he was a prisoner, the plan seemed too far away now.

**...**

Bearclaw looked up as the door to his cell opened and light shone on his face. He shrank away a bit to shield his eyes from the blinding light that came from the outside. Any minute now, he would have to face the wrath of the warden, who was said to come in and inspect him.

"Well, well, well," the black-&-white warden sneered as he stalked inside. "I never thought I'd see you in here, Bearclaw. _Former _deputy of FireClan."

Bearclaw looked up at the warden. "How did you know who I am?"

The warden narrowed his amber eyes. "How could I not know? You broke my niece's heart."

This caught Bearclaw by great surprise. He had no idea Rose had an uncle who was working here. And how did he know he had left FireClan and possibly hurt Rose by running away?

"You're Rose's uncle?" he mewed. "I-I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt her."

"Quiet!" the warden roared, flecks of spit scattering onto Bearclaw's face. "You're my special prisoner now. And you better behave now. If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor deputy who betrayed his Clan and let his Clanmates down...why, they'd tear you into little kits' bedding."

Bearclaw sighed, knowing his Clan would find all this out. "So what's in it for you? Why don't you just tell Darkstar and collect the reward?"

The warden glared at him darkly. "Oh, in due time, believe me. I intend to collect."

At that, he padded out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Bearclaw let the darkness wash over him as the door slammed shut. What would he say to Rose if she ever saw him here? Say sorry? Explain what he had to do for her and FireClan? The shame burned his pelt hotter than the sun or even the water around this island.

**...**

Ashfeather padded down to the room where messes were most to occur and saw a pleasant scene. Bearclaw had been dyed back to his own pelt color, but he and Echo were mopping up the floor side by side with no trouble. It was good to see some allies working together and not get into any fights and the such.

"Oh, good," Ashfeather purred. "You guys already met."

Echo looked up at him. "...actually, we met moons ago."

Bearclaw looked up. "We did?"

"Yeah, you kinda burned down my Tribe's village," Echo replied, giving Bearclaw a small glare.

"Oh. Sorry about that," Bearclaw mewed. "Uh...nice to see you again."

When the two prisoners were done in mopping up the floor, they put their mops against the wall and sat down. Ashfeather looked around to check his surroundings before joining them against a corner. Now was the time to put his plan into motion.

"So listen, I think I have an escape plan," he explained. "I checked out the Coolers again, and the whole point of them is to keep FireBenders contained, right?"

"Yeah..." Bearclaw replied slowly.

Ashfeather went on, "So they're completely segregated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep heat out, right?

Echo rolled her green eyes. "Just get to the point."

"It can be a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water!" Ashfeather mewed excitedly.

Bearclaw and Echo exchanged some looks before the former looked at Ashfeather. "The cooler as a boat? Are you sure about this?"

Ashfeather nodded. "I'm telling you, it'll work. Look, I walked around the perimeter for some patrolling. There's a blind spot between two guard towers, and it's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out, so we'll roll the cooler into the water and just flow with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And coo coo cachou, we're home free!"

"But how are you going to get the cooler out?" Echo asked.

"Yeah. How ARE you gonna get the cooler out?"

All three cats turned around, startled, as they looked up. It was Striker listening from the stairs; the big white tom was apparently let out for good behavior. Anyways, he squeezed through an area underneath the railing and landed in a crouch near the group. He looked intimidating yet a powerful warrior at the same time.

"Huh?" Ashfeather squealed, not wanting him to find out. "We didn't. We...We didn't say that. You got it all wrong!"

"He's right," Bearclaw added.

But Striker wasn't convinced. Instead, he growled, "I heard you hatchin' an escape plan, and I want in."

Bearclaw shook his head. "There's nothing to get in on."

Ashfeather nodded. "Yeah. The only thing we're hatching is a...chicken egg?"

Echo sighed at her mate's lame attempt to hide the truth while Bearclaw slapped a forepaw to his face. Ashfeather chuckled nervously before Striker went on.

"Okay, how about this?" he growled on. "Either I come with you or the Warden can hear about this _chicken __egg_ too."

This made Echo sigh, "I guess we have no choice."

_Dammit! That's one more prisoner who wants out like us! _Ashfeather thought. But he did see some sense in what Striker was saying; if they didn't let him come along, Striker would tell on them. But if they let him come with them, they could all escape together...with Emberstar, of course.

So he finally meowed, "Okay, you're in. Now, first..." he started, pawing a wrench over towards Bearclaw, "...we need someone to unbolt the Cooler from the inside."

"Oh, I can get you inside," Striker responded with a smirk.

Ashfeather raised a brow as if to question him. But Bearclaw seemed to realize what was going on, for he padded over towards the other end of the room while Striker did the same. He looked upwards to see two warriors leaning on a railing overseeing the mopping area and talking with one another.

Striker began walking and stopping in front of the stairs, his tail twitching. Bearclaw began to step backwards as he mopped up the floor and bumped the mop handle into Striker. This made Ashfeather look on in interest; this was almost like when he and Silverheart did the same trick back in leaf-bare.

"Hey! Are you mouse-brained?" Striker was growling as he butted heads with Bearclaw. "Watch where you're goin'!"

The two toms pushed each other, and Striker lifted Bearclaw off the ground by the neck and threw him back. Bearclaw landed with a turn on all four paws and glared over at Striker.

"Hey, _you_ watch who _you're_ shoving, jackass!" Bearclaw hissed back, pushing Striker back. Ashfeather knew they were faking the fight, but this seemed slightly real.

Striker snorted. "I think you mean _whom_ I'm shovin'."

So they leapt at each other and began hitting each other's faces with sheathed paws. The other prisoners began to gather round and begin to cheer, yowling for them to rip each other's heads off. They pushed at each other before Bearclaw leapt and attempts to throw a swipe at Striker. But the big white tom grabbed his paw in his teeth and threw him back, the hairs on his thick pelt bristling.

"I need backup over here!" Ashfeather yowled, amazed that this plan was succeeding.

Meanwhile, Striker tried to leap on top of Bearclaw, but the shorter tom leapt out of the way in time. He landed safely on all four paws and proceeded to FireBend, waving a flame about with his tail. Striker leapt to the side to avoid the flames from scorching his paws.

"No FireBending!" an armored guard yowled. "Into the cooler with you!"

Two guards immediately rushed in to throw Bearclaw down to the floor. They brought him up by the scruff and led him away while Ashfeather and Echo stole a glance at each other before they parted ways. Ashfeather prayed to StarClan that this plan would really work and that Striker was really on their side. To his relief, Striker nodded to Ashfeather before padding off into the other direction.

Sometime later, it was time to see how Bearclaw was doing. Ashfeather soon found the FireClan rogue shivering a bit...but he didn't look that cold. The former was amazed that he could survive in this kind of cold.

"So...have you learned your lesson?" he told him, trying to sound as stern as he could. "I'll take you back if you did."

Bearclaw lifted his broad head up and sighed a breath of fire. "Yes I have. Completely," he meowed with a smirk, showing the bolts and nuts he unbolted.

Ashfeather smiled down at him. "Good," he mewed in a whisper. "I got Echo and Striker out of their cells a few minutes ago. They'll be waiting for us at the shore."

"Yeah." But suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he hissed. "Someone's coming. Hide in here!"

At that, the dark tabby tom pulled him in and quickly slid the inner door closed. Just as they hid, they heard two cats meowing as they made their patrolling rounds.

"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at sunrise tomorrow," a tom was meowing.

A female voice asked, "Anyone interesting?"

Ashfeather opened the door a bit to listen in to the conversation. "Nah, just the usual stuff. Some thieves, couple of traitors, and war prisoners. Though I did hear there might be a pirate cat."

"No foolin'," the she-cat grunted.

As the two cats left, Bearclaw hissed, "War prisoners? It could be Emberstar."

Ashfeather looked away, unable to find out what he was feeling on the inside. Some of him felt happy that his father was arriving, but he was also worried that he might not be there.

"I know."

"Well, what the hell are we gonna do then?" Bearclaw asked, shrugging. "Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?"

Ashfeather shook his head, feeling a few tears leak from his eyes. "I don't know. Is it right for me to risk any freedom Echo might get? All of our freedom on little to no chance that my dad will show up here?"

Bearclaw shrugged again. "It's your call, Ashfeather. You're the leader of this mission. You do what you feel is right."

This made Ashfeather look down and think this over. Should he let everyone wait until his father came until they could all escape together? Or was it really right for him to free Echo and then come back for Emberstar?

**...**

It was night, but Ashfeather couldn't see the stars as he looked up at the cooler building. He and Bearclaw had started to slowly yet carefully take the cooler off of the building and down the slope. The two toms started using all of their body weight to stop the cooler from rolling down the slope rapidly and noisily. Thankfully, Echo and Striker had rushed up to assist them.

"Took you guys long enough," Striker meowed as a gray tom and a light brown she-cat joined them. The big white cat flicked his tail to them and meowed, "This here's my girl and my best bud. They comin' too."

Ashfeather sighed in annoyance as he continued struggling against the cooler. "Fine, everybody in the cooler. Let's go!"

The six cats turned the cooler into a vertical position and leapt inside. But Ashfeather leapt out quick to recover the stuff he got from camp, tossing it into the cooler.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Bearclaw asked as Ashfeather retrieved his sword. "You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Restore your honor. Rescuing your father is your only chance."

"What?" Echo asked in surprise. "Your dad's here?"

Ashfeather gave them both a tired look. "I don't want to leave, but this is my fault. If I had just learned to accept my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this damn mess. Maybe sometimes it's just better to back out of a mission before you fail."

Bearclaw glared sternly at him. "No it's not. What kind of talk is that? Look, you're going to fail a lot before things work out."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Ashfeather growled as he slung his bag over his shoulder and padded to the cooler.

"Even if you might fail over and over again," came the reply.

This made Ashfeather stop in his tracks and look over his shoulder. "Seriously, not helping."

Bearclaw ran up to him until he stood in front of him. "You have to try every time. You can't quit just because you're afraid you might fail. Every warrior goes through this in life. They might fail at something, but that doesn't mean a warrior should give up right away."

_Really? _Ashfeather recalled the time when Emberstar left home to fight in the war, and he was just an apprentice at the time. He had wanted to be a warrior all his life, so he had went on the journey with Goldwing, and he eventually became a warrior.

_So that's what Bearclaw meant..._

"Hey!" Striker yowled from the cooler. "If you two are done nuzzlin', can we get a move on?"

"No. I'm staying," Ashfeather replied, dropping his bag as he turned around to talk to Bearclaw and Echo. He leaned forth to nuzzle Echo's shoulder, meowing, "You guys go ahead. You've been here long enough."

Echo rubbed his muzzle with her and purred, "I'll stay with you, Ashfeather."

"I'm staying too," Bearclaw meowed, standing by her side.

"Not me, I'm out!" Striker yowled, pushing the cooler and jumping into it. "Let's roll on outta here, dudes! Roll tide!"

Ashfeather watched the cooler sail off away from them and across the water. He looked down at his paws and sighed, "We gave up our chance to escape. I just hope we haven't made a very big mistake."

**...**

It was nearly dawn as the three cats looked up at a gondola. Striker was sailing the cooler slowly across the water slowly, panting like a dog. He knew the water in the lake was as hot as an active volcano, but he didn't know it would be that hot.

Panting, he stood up and looked around. His friend and mate were panting heavily as well.

"Rrrr...this current is so DAMN slow!" Striker snarled faintly. Getting an idea, he tore off a small metal rectangular section of the cooler and added, "Maybe I can use this as a paddle."

But as the paddle touched the water, the metal searing under the heat and burning his forepaws. Striker immediately let go of the metal piece as he looked at his paws and struggled hard not to scream. His whole body rapidly reddened a bit comically as he continued to struggle not to let a loud scream out.

Then...he let one out.

**...**

Ashfeather was scanning the courtyard when he heard the sound of a hammer hitting a bell. He looked up to see two cats sounding the bell, his brain dizzy with a realization. Just then, the black-&-white warden appeared, yowling out orders.

"Guards! Secure the perimeter and lock down the prisoners!" he roared. "Now!"

So the guards ran down the platform hurriedly. A group of prisoners in the yard began running off, but a guard brandished his fire whip and flailed it towards the screen. Ashfeather ran over to the wall and looked down. Striker, the gray tom, and the light brown she-cat were now pressing themselves against the wall to avoid being spotted.

"The plan failed!" he yelped. "They're caught."

He looked down to see Striker and his friends make their way across the narrow platform. He could not believe they were getting to be caught; maybe the record was supposed to be intact after all.

"Get the fugitives and throw them in the Cooler!" the Warden was snarling, flecks of spit flying out of his mouth.

The guard in charge of the steering wheel turned towards him. "Uh, they ARE in the cooler sir."

The Warden raised his voice and snarled, "You fool! I meant one that's _bolted down_, not _floating in the water_! This is a lockdown! We have new prisoners arriving any minute now! Everything must be completely secure!"

Ashfeather felt his ears rise up as he heard "new prisoners". Did that mean Emberstar was among these prisoners that were to come?

The guard turned the steering wheel as a huge crossbow on the contraption was lowered. The bolt was released and ended up piercing the cooler violently and reeling the cooler in. Ashfeather hoped none of the cats inside were hurt from the attack on them.

A closer look told him that the huge harpoon contraption was covering the cylindrical part of the cooler. Inside the cooler, Striker and the other escapees were frightened, their pelts bristling and their eyes wide. The cooler slowly sailed across the water, back to the Boiling Island, where it was supposed to be. But Ashfeather, his back pressed against a wall, peered out carefully at a new thing.

"The gondola's moving," he reported. And said gondola slowly made its way to the tower.

_This is it..._

The gondola had sailed into the tower and docked there. There were shadows of various cats inside, and Ashfeather felt his heart beat faster. He hissed lowly, "If my dad's not there, then we've risked everything for nothing."

"We had to," Echo mewed firmly. Bearclaw nodded with her.

"Hmmm..." Ashfeather looked back and kneaded the ground with his forepaws, thinking hard, _Come on, come on._

A guard opened the door of the gondola, and a cat stepped out. This wasn't Emberstar. It was a big burly tom with shaggy black fur, a nose ring, and a scar on one of his forelegs.

"Is that him?" Bearclaw asked.

"My dad doesn't have a nose ring or a black pelt," Ashfeather retorted.

So they looked around to see various prisoners file past them while Ashfeather peered closely. None of them were his father.

He stared on. "Where is he?"

Then the last cat arrived...and a big brown cat with a hairless face came walking out of the gondola. No one else followed behind him.

Ashfeather looked on with disbelief. "That's it? That can't be it!"

Echo pressed her pelt comfortingly against his. "I'm sorry, Ashfeather."

Ashfeather just lowered his head and closed his eyes. They had wasted all this time for nothing, nothing but disappointment and despair. Emberstar wasn't among them, and they could be here for the rest of their lives.

"Hey you!" Ashfeather opened his eyes and looked up to see a guard looking inside. "Get off the gondola!"

A dark gray leg had appeared from the inside of the gondola, its clawed paws patiently stepping onto the platform. Ashfeather watched on nervously in anticipation; this could be him, but then again, it could not. But when the cat stepped out of the gondola, there he was.

Emberstar. The dark gray tom was looking around in calmness, his different-colored blue eyes were scanning the area as if he was scanning the territory for an intruder.

"Dad...Ashfeather felt his heart repair at seeing his proud father appearing. Emberstar had just arrived at last.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: I know what I said earlier about uploading two chapters at the same time. But for now...I think this might do for now until I finish the second part.**

**Sokka: Hey, it's cool, Avatar Cat. And did you get the private-snatching part from Hiro of Ginga Densetsu Weed?**

**AvatarCat12: Yep. That's what's also part of the mild gore. So you wanna say the review thing and the preview for Boiling Island: Jalibreak?**

**Sokka: Sure. Why not? (To the readers) Folks...read and review! Those who do will get their own figurine of Striker tearing the privates off of a cat! I mean... (seeing AvatarCat12 shake his head) ...I mean...you get virtual drinks of your choice...and one of our cat forms as a figurine. Flames aren't allowed, but advice and constructive criticism are.**

**Preview: The plan to get out of Boiling Island is getting closer to the end. Emberstar has finally been found...yet Striker is being threatened to reveal the traitor! Meanwhile, some special guests arrive to cause trouble for our heroes. Drama happens, and alliances may shift for good.**

**Both: See ya next time! And Happy early Halloween!**


	15. Jailbreak

**AvatarCat12: We're now at the final part for the Boiling Island episodes. Sokka, you excited for this?**

**Sokka: Yeah. You bet I am! And are you excited for Thanksgiving?**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah, since I'll be spending it up here in Pennsylvania. I'm thankful for my family, friends, pets, and God Himself. What about you?**

**Sokka: What am I thankful for, you say? Well, the first two, sarcasm, and food!**

**AvatarCat12: (Rolls eyes playfully) Same ol' Sokka. Let's go on with the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Remember, folks! I own neither series. Bryke and Erin Hunter do.**

**Summary: ****The plan to get out of Boiling Island is getting closer to the end. Emberstar has finally been found...yet Striker is being threatened to reveal the traitor! Meanwhile, some special guests arrive to cause trouble for our heroes. Drama happens, and alliances may shift for good.**

**Uploading Date: November 14, 2012**

**Both: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Boiling Island: Jailbreak**_

"Line them up for the Warden!"

Guards surrounded the perimeter, and the prisoners filed in one by one into a straight line. As the last few followers came in, Emberstar followed, his tail lashing angrily. Ashfeather saw that this was the chance for getting close to him to tell him of the escape plan. So he gave a meow and rushed down the stairs, nudging some guards aside.

"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through. The Warden wants me over there," Ashfeather meowed, flicking his ears towards the Warden. "Sorry."

Finally, he had arrived at where the prisoners stood in line and got behind a line of guards taller than him. He peeked from in between the sides of large cats to see the black-&-white warden prowling before the prisoners.

"Welcome to The Boiling Island," he rumbled as he stalked before them. "I'm sure you've all heard the horrible rumors about our little island. Well I just want to tell you that they don't have to be true. As long as you do everything I say," he added, his voice rising a bit as he stopped in front of Emberstar, who looked down. The warden went on threateningly, "Look me in the eye when I'm talking to you."

But Emberstar looked a bit to the side and muttered, "...no."

_Good! _Ashfeather cheered silently. _Show him how it's done!_

The warden sneered. "Oh, you'd rather look at my paws? Well, have a look then!"

He used one of his forepaws to pull on the chain, and Emberstar let out a slight choking sound as he was forced to the floor. Ashfeather gaped in horror before glaring over at the gloating warden. How dare this cat do that to his father and a Clan leader?! And to make things worse, the claws of the warden were out and piercing Emberstar's neck, making him grunt in pain.

"I know who you are, Emberstar of WaterClan," the black-&-white cat jeered. "So resolute and strong. But don't worry; we'll get rid of that before you know it. Now _look me in the eye when I'm talking to you_."

Emberstar finally did so, looking up with hatred in his different-colored blue eyes.

The warden curled his lip. "See? Isn't that better?" To the other prisoners, he yowled, "You will all do as I say or pay the price! You will all..."

But as he walked on, Emberstar tilted his head so that the warden's paws tripped over the chain and he lost his balance. Seeing this trick made Ashfeather start snickering as the guards in front of him rushed to the warden's aid. Emberstar sure knew how to trick someone like that; it was one thing he admired about his father.

Two guards ran to the warden as he and Emberstar stood up on their own. A guard asked, "Sir? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, you asses!" the warden roared. "Now get these prisoners out of my sight!"

Ashfeather stood where he was at as he saw the prisoners being directed down a flight of stairs. Hoping to find his father in one of the cells and meet him there, he padded off after the other guards. Twice, he looked over his shoulder as Emberstar was herded towards the cells they would soon be held in.

**...**

He had gone over to where the prisoners were held, hoping to find his father in one of them. He had asked for directions to where his cell was at, and the guards weren't nice, but at least they had politely told him where he saw at. A few more down the line...and there he was, in his cell.

Emberstar was lying down on the lumpy mattress, his head on his paws as his tail flicked around a bit. He did not look hopeless, but he looked rather thoughtful as he stared around the room, apparently in thought. This was the perfect time to go tell his father about the plan and get them all out of the Boiling Island.

"Thank StarClan you're okay," Ashfeather sighed as he opened the door and padded towards his father.

But Emberstar leapt up on the mattress rapidly, his claws sheathed and his pelt bristling. "If you take one step closer, you'll see just how okay I am!"

Ashfeather took a small step back, knowing what was going on. He hadn't removed his disguise yet, and he had fought against Echo before he revealed himself, so he wanted to avoid the same thing.

So he took the helmet off, saying, "No, wait. It's me."

Emberstar relaxed and gaped at his son, tears of joy now in his eyes. "Ashfeather! My son!"

Ashfeather padded quickly towards his leader and embraced him. The larger dark gray cat did the same, and Ashfeather felt happy tears stain the fur on his shoulders. Despite having been separated for only a half-moon or so, it felt great to see Emberstar again.

When they separated, Emberstar chided him lightly, "Great StarClan, you gotta be more careful with that guard disguise. I almost smacked you in the face with my paw."

"Yeah..." Ashfeather chuckled nervously. "I ran into that problem earlier."

**...**

Striker growled as he was pinned to the chair, the metal bars surrounding his paws. His girl and buddy were probably still imprisoned, and he felt like leaping out of this chair and castrating the Warden pacing in front of him. Well...he would if he wasn't strapped down to the chair in a very awkward sitting position.

"Are you comfortable, Striker?" the Warden sneered.

"If you tryin' to make me talk, forget it," Striker snarled. "I ain't no damn squealer."

So the Warden turned his head slightly to look at his prisoner. "I only asked you if you were comfortable...that's all."

Striker gave him a big cheesy smile. "Well...yeah. Actually, I AM pretty comfortable!"

The black-&-white Warden looked away as if he was going to leave the room. But then he proceeded to kick the back of the chair as it fell down, making Striker groan. He had just been flipped upside down, his head almost touching the floor. But as if this wasn't enough, the paw of the Warden slammed down onto his throat, ready to choke him if he tried anything.

"Are you _still_ comfortable?" the Warden sneered.

"N-No..." Striker groaned, his eyes looking up.

The Warden snorted. "I know you and your partners are not smart enough to come up with that little escape plan. So you're gonna tell me right here and right now. Who is the mastermind?"

Striker didn't say as the Warden stalked past him while a few guards came in. The guards grabbed Striker by the scruff and pulled him up until the color faded from his face.

**...**

"So where's Volefoot at?" Ashfeather asked his father. "And where's everyone else from the invasion?"

"The others are being held captive at a prison near the FireClan palace," Emberstar meowed as he watched his son pad over and sit beside him. "They singled me out as their leader and sent me here. But before I left I met some young she-cats who said they knew you. The Light Petal Tribe, are they?"

"You mean the Tribe of Heavy Roses?" Ashfeather asked.

Emberstar nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Sorry there."

Ashfeather shrugged. "It's fine. Anyways, their head island-guard Echo is here. She's my mate, and she's gonna escape with us."

He thought Emberstar would not like it if he was mates with a Tribe cat, but he pushed this away. Ever since the new Clans had risen, the rule that no inter-Clan relationship should be had dissolved into nothing. To his relief, Emberstar nodded and laid a paw on his shoulder.

"That's a good thing. We'll need all the help we can get."

"And you know Bearclaw?" Ashfeather went on.

Emberstar tilted his head to the side. "Darkstar's son? I don't know him, but I knew of him."

Ashfeather nodded. "Well, he's a dark tabby like Darkstar. And he's here too."

"Sounds like this will be a big problem," Emberstar growled, flicking his tail.

Hearing that, Ashfeather cursed himself quietly. He wished he had told his father about the big dark tabby being on their side earlier. But he supposed that he was so caught up in the moment of being reunited that he forgot to say something.

"He's on our side now," Ashfeather replied. But as Emberstar eyed him doubtfully, he added, "I know, I had the same response. After all he did, it _was_ hard to trust him. But he's really proven himself, and I never would have found you without his help."

To his relief, Emberstar did not protest and go on with the subject. Instead, he meowed, "So do you have a plan?

At this, Ashfeather looked to the side. "We had a plan, but some of the other prisoners got in the way and ruined it." He sighed and looked down at his paws, muttering, "I don't know if there's another way off this island."

"Ashfeather..." Emberstar had padded over to his son and laid a gentle paw on his shoulder. "Let me tell you something: there's no prison in the world that can hold two WaterClan geniuses."

"Then we'd better find two," Ashfeather purred, looking up. This kind of praise from his father and leader was enough to make him be confident again.

Along with his son, Emberstar purred too. Quickly, Ashfeather gave his father a brief farewell and padded on over to the prisoners' housing area. He had to find Bearclaw and tell him the good news.

So far, it was quiet in the housing area; not even rats scuttled around. Ashfeather padded towards the first door from a flight of stairs, leaning against the door and raising his visor.

"Bearclaw?" he whispered. "Are you there?"

The dark tabby's amber eyes appeared at the door's opening. "Yeah," he answered.

Ashfeather replied, "Good. I just got done talking to my dad, Emberstar. We came up with an escape plan together."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Startled, Ashfeather jumped a bit, raised his visor, and turned to the stairs. A big black tom and a tabby she-cat were staring down at him, their brows raised. They must have spotted him coming in here from the flight of stairs.

"I was just telling this dirty scoundrel what I think of him!" the WaterClan warrior lied.

They seemed to buy it, but the big black cat growled, "Well, do that later. He's coming with us."

Ashfeather looked from Bearclaw's cell and back; what did they want with him? "Why?"

"We have orders straight from the Warden," the she-cat retorted. "That's why."

"Could I just get ten more seconds to rough him up a bit?" Ashfeather asked, unsheathing his claws. In truth, he just wanted to slip in there and explain the escape plan to Bearclaw.

The two warriors glanced at each other as if Ashfeather had suggested playing chicken with a stampeding horse herd. Then the tabby she-cat growled, "Fine. But ONLY ten seconds."

The black tom nodded and opened the door slightly. At this, Ashfeather slipped in and told Bearclaw what was going to happen. Getting the hint, Bearclaw grabbed a pillow from his nest and tossed it to the floor, nodding to it. So Ashfeather gave a yowl and pounced on top of it, pummeling the center with his back paws.

"Take that! And some of this!" he yowled.

The male guard sighed "Amateur" while the female shook her head.

As Ashfeather continued to attack the pillow, Bearclaw held it in place with one paw, letting out some false grunts of discomfort when Ashfeather struck. This plan so far was working...but for how long?

Ashfeather whispered, "Okay, here's the plan. We have a new plan, but it's gonna need a big distraction. Be in the yard in one hour."

Bearclaw nodded. Suddenly, however, the door began to open, catching the FireClan warrior off guard. The two toms exchanged a glance, unsure about what to do. As the door then opened up, Ashfeather saw that he had no choice but to quickly cover this up. So he pounced at Bearclaw and pinned him on his back to the floor, a paw on his throat. The latter grunted again, this time in real pain, making Ashfeather feel briefly bad.

"Alright, that's enough," the black tom growled, shoving Ashfeather away and flicking his tail to the doorway.

Ashfeather nodded and backed away, watching as Bearclaw was led out of his cell. Whatever his friend had to go through, he was sure he would get to come back out and follow the plan. He knew Echo and Emberstar would meet up with them there.

**...**

Two spectating guards on a railing looked down at the scene. Bearclaw ignored them, hissing with frustration as he tried to leap away, but one cat caught his head and threw him back. Giving up, he got back in line and walked beside the marching warriors.

Panting, Bearclaw rasped, "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"

Another cell opened, and the guards shoved Bearclaw inside. He landed on a chair in the middle of the room and looked quickly back at the guards.

"Wait!" he yowled. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Oh, come on, Bearclaw. We know that's a lie."

Swiftly, Bearclaw looked around, the voice sounding familiar in his ears. But then, shame filled his heart when he saw Rose in the corner of the room. The warmness she had shown recently was now gone. She was glaring over at him with bitterness and anger in her dark amber eyes.

"...Rose...?"

When she stalked into the light, he lowered himself down to the ground until his belly reached the ground. Rose just shoved the chair to the dark corner of the room and stalked around him, her tail often brushing against his shoulder. Bearclaw tried to look away, but everywhere he looked, Rose would be there, looking him in the eye.

**...**

At the prisoners housing area, Striker was still held up in the interrogation cell. The warden had ordered two of his warriors to flip him upside down and hold him there until the blood filled up his head. No matter how hard he tried, Striker did not want to speak about the "traitor". But from being held upside down all the time, it was hard.

"How is he?" the Warden asked as he padded into the room.

"I think he's ready to talk," one of them meowed, throwing the chair back into its original state.

Striker was sitting up now, panting and gulping abundantly. His face slowly faded back to its normal shade before he looked up again to see the Warden stalk up to him. But suddenly, the black-&-white tom swerved around to stand behind him.

The Warden bent his head low to Striker's ear and hissed, "Have you had enough time to think about what I asked?"

"Yes," Striker groaned.

"And?"

Striker knew he would have to talk sooner or later. So he sighed, "Yeah, you're right. There was another cat involved in the escape plan."

The Warden narrowed his eyes. "Who?"

"It's a cat disguised like a prison guard...only he's not a prison guard," Striker explained. "He's the mastermind behind all this. He came up with the plan."

At that, the Warden patted Striker on the head and stalked away. Striker stared after him before lowering his head and catching his breath.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"How did you know I was here?" Bearclaw asked.

"Because I know you _so_ well," Rose hissed, leaning against a wall.

Bearclaw looked up at her. "Yeah, but... how?"

Rose growled, "The Warden's my uncle, dumbass." As Bearclaw looked down and groaned, she took a scroll out from behind her and dropped it at her paws. "I guess I don't know you either. All I get is a letter. You could have looked me in the eye when you ripped out my heart!"

This made Bearclaw look up at her in shock and shame. He wasn't trying to break her heart; he was just trying to help her and FireClan. But this...if he had just talked with Rose about all this, none of this would have happened.

"I didn't mean to..."

"You didn't mean to?" Rose snarled. She held up the contents of the letter, growling, "Well, what about this? 'Dear Rose, I'm sorry you have to find out this way, but I'm leaving.'"

"STOP!" Bearclaw roared. He lowered his voice and meowed quietly, "This isn't about you. This is about...about FireClan."

"Thanks. That makes me feel better," Rose spat sarcastically as she threw the letter at his head.

Bearclaw rubbed his head, knowing that the physical assault didn't hurt. What hurt worse was Rose essentially refusing his apology. He had loved her for StarClan knew how long, but all of that was now crumbling to dust and blown away in the wind. Part of him felt like he should have stayed in FireClan, but he did what he knew he had to do.

"Rose, I never wanted to hurt you," he rasped, standing up to face her. "But I have to do this to save my Clan."

Rose still glared at him. "Save it? You're betraying your Clan and the Warrior Code by leaving!"

Bearclaw retorted calmly, "That's not how I see it."

**...**

"Ashfeather, what's going on?"

Ashfeather had gone over to Echo's cell, where he saw her training, practicing claw swipes and rolling attacks to dodge. He recalled the day he met her, when he had been a sexist jerk who had thought a she-cat's only purposes in life were to raise kits and serve the toms. But after Echo had beaten him in battle, he had changed his attitude. Now that he saw her practice her moves, he knew more than ever that he made the right choice in loving her.

"I don't have much time," Ashfeather mewed as he looked out of the opening. "If I'm seen with you, the guards might think something's up. I just talked to my father."

Echo was surprised at this, but she smiled as she purred, "That's great!"

Ashfeather nodded. "Yeah, and we're escaping today on the gondola."

"What?" the red tabby she-cat asked, looking confused.

"My dad and I came up with a plan together. We're gonna hijack the gondola and, we're gonna take a hostage with us so they won't cut the lines. We'll be fine," he added, rubbing his cheek in a comforting way against hers.

Echo pulled away, still looking troubled. "But we'll never make it onto the gondola. There's too many guards."

Ashfeather nodded. "Yeah, I know. But my dad already thought of that. He said we'll need a distraction. That's why we're gonna start...a prison riot."

Echo still looked skeptical, and Ashfeather was prepared to hear another argument from her. In fact, he even thought she would beg him not to do it. But instead, to his relief, she looked up at him and nodded.

"Okay. But first, let's just say by some miracle, this all works and we make it on the gondola," she meowed. "The Warden will still just cut the lines, even if we have a captive."

"Not if the Warden is the captive." But a sound from outside the cell stopped their conversation, and Ashfeather knew he had to be there. So he rubbed her head with his and meowed softly, "I have to go. I'll find you before we start the riot."

When they were finished, Ashfeather padded out of the cell, closing the door along the way. There were no warriors here, and he could sneak out to the courtyard easily.

"You!" Ashfeather froze as a warrior growled to him. "The Warden wants to see you."

Ashfeather turned around to the tabby. "Why?"

The tabby shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't ask."

"Maybe I could schedule another time with him?" Ashfeather asked. "How's tomorrow? Is that okay with you?"

But two warriors were waiting for him and nudged him back while the first warrior growled, "No. He wants to see you now. That means 'right away.'"

So they padded outside to where all the other guard were lining up at. Ashfeather noticed that they were all looking nervous about something while the Warden paced before them, looking a bit angry.

"Put him in the lineup," he growled.

So the two guards complied and shoved Ashfeather up to the front. He lost his balance a bit and brushed on another guard as he pushed him back to position. His eyes widened in shock and fear as he tried to hide behind the other guard, but the warriors nudged him away. So he had no choice but to sit down and wait for the Warden to finish speaking.

Then...he saw Striker being pushed to the front of the line. Ashfeather noticed how his head was hung low and felt a rush of fear made his heart stop. _Did he rat us out?_

The Warden began, "One of you is an imposter who thought he could fool me. But now that cat is going to be in a lot of trouble. Who is it?" When no one answered him, he growled louder, "Come on! Own up!"

Striker opened his eyes while Ashfeather was shaking nervously on the spot. He watched the big white tom blink a bit and narrow his eyebrows. So the WaterClan warrior closed his eyes, ready to be called the imposter and being attacked. Until...

"That's him, Warden! He's the imposter!"

Ashfeather was sure that he was going to be found out now. But when he opened his eyes, he saw that Striker...wasn't yowling about him. Instead, he was pointing a huge black paw at the tabby guard who bullied him the other day.

"What?!" the tabby snarled while the Warden sneered. As the tabby was being pulled away, he snarled, "I am not an imposter! He's lying!" he added, pointing his paw at Striker. "That jackass is a liar!"

Striker gave a shrug and a small grin, knowing he had finally gotten even with the bully guard. Ashfeather gave a sigh of relief, thankful the big white tom didn't tell on him. He took back the suspicion he had earlier; Striker was turning out to be a good ally after all.

**...**

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" the tabby whimpered, cowering as he was strapped to a chair. He had been led into the interrogation chamber and was being slapped on the face to talk.

The Warden slapped him across the face and snarled, "Save your breath, you piece of fox shit. I know you've been working together. You threw Striker in the very cooler they used to escape. It was all part of your plan, wasn't it?"

The tabby hissed, "That was just a coincidence!"

Suddenly, a voice meowed, "Sir, there's someone to see you."

"Who told you to interrupt me?!" the Warden snarled, turning around.

"I did."

But then, as he recognized the voice, his eyes widened as he saw the cat standing at the doorway. It was Frostfire, the deputy of FireClan; after her brother ran away from his Clan, she had been reappointed as the deputy. Before her, the warriors bowed down in respect while Aya, the white she-cat with her, looked around in a confused way.

"Frostfire!" the Warden mewled as Frostfire and Aya padded into the room. "Uh...it is an honor to welcome you to FireClan's most representative prison. I didn't realize you were coming."

Frostfire frowned at him and flicked her tail at the tabby. "Who is this?"

The Warden pointed at him and meowed, "He's a guard who was involved in a recent and feeble escape attempt."

"It wasn't me!" the tabby wailed.

"Shut the hell up!" the black-&-white tom snarled at him.

"You're wasting your time." They looked back to see Frostfire padding away from them. "That's not one of the rebels."

The Warden stared after her, stunned. "How do you know?"

Frostfire padded outside, replying, "Because I'm an expert on other cats."

**...**

"Hey, I just got orders," Ashfeather told a guard in the prisoner housing area. "Let the prisoners out into the yard."

It was time to let his plan unfold and get the riot into play. He had reassured Emberstar and Echo that it would all be fine before he went on a small patrol.

"But we're in the middle of lockdown," the ginger tabby growled, not moving.

But Ashfeather wouldn't take no for an answer. So he waved his tail dismissively and padded off, meowing, "Oh, okay. I'll just go tell the Warden you said that. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear about you undermining his authority. By the way, what's your name again?"

The warrior now looked scared as he mewled, "No, wait. Don't tell the Warden, I...I'm just a little confused."

"Hey, I'm confused too," Ashfeather replied, looking over his shoulder. "But the Warden's in a bad mood and illogical. So if you ask me, don't question it and just do what he says."

"Yeah, you're right." The warrior turned away and began pulling down the various levers as a bell rang off. He yowled into a microphone, "We're letting the prisoners out now! All prisoners to the courtyard!"

The doors of each cell opened up floor by floor as the prisoners immediately left their cells. A bit far away, he could see Echo peek her head out and stare around as the prisoners padded past her. Not too far away, Emberstar stepped out from his cell and, apparently having heard of Echo's fur color, stuck beside her, padding side by side. Ashfeather was happy to see that they were getting back together...but he wondered when Bearclaw would come back.

When they made it back to the courtyard, Ashfeather found Echo and Emberstar waiting by a small rock. He gave them a meow, and they looked up as he approached them.

"This is it. We have to start a riot," he told them.

Echo gave her mate a confused look. "Okay, but how are we gonna do that?"

Just then, Emberstar looked over to the side and smirked as a small group of two cats padded by. He turned around to meow, "I'll show you. Just watch."

So Ashfeather watched as his father prowled out into the open, scanning a certain way to start a riot. Having chosen his target, he ran over to a pack of prisoners and shoved the back of a big burly black tom. The big cat was turning around slowly as if he was indeed going to pounce. And Ashfeather was praying that this could turn into a riot.

But it didn't. Instead, to his incredulity, the big black cat whined, "Hey, why did you do that? That hurt my feelings."

Emberstar raised a brow. "What? Aren't you mad at me?"

"Um...normally, I would be," the prisoner replied. Then he gave a small smile as he purred, "But I've been working to control my anger."

"This isn't working," Ashfeather sighed, slapping his forehead with his paw. This was going to turn out to be a failure after all.

"Hey you." A large paw on his shoulder told Ashfeather that Striker was glaring down at him. "You're lucky I didn't rat you out. But my kindness comes at a price. I know you're plannin' another escape attempt, and I want in."

Ashfeather nodded, knowing he would include Striker in this. "Actually, we're trying to escape right now. But we need a riot. You wouldn't happen to know how to start one, would you?"

Striker's hazel eyes narrowed. "A riot? Man, watch this!"

The big white cat shoved him aside and padded towards another pack of prisoners nearby. Once he got to them, he ended up grabbing another prisoner by his scruff as the prisoner shrieked in surprise. He slammed the cat down to the ground and screeched, "Hey everyone! Riot! Riot!"

To Ashfeather's amazement, the yard broke into chaos as flames were bended all over the place. He was now feeling a bit grateful to add Striker into the pack.

"That's impressive," Emberstar purred, nodding in approval.

Ashfeather and Echo looked around at each other, amazed of how well this plan was starting to go out. Just behind them, the cat Emberstar had tried to fight with was staring around a bit before he unsheathed his claws.

"Forget about controlling my anger. LET'S START A RIOT!" he roared...before a prisoner jumped at him to knock him down.

In every part of the prisoners' yard, chaos and dust ensued everywhere. Ashfeather could see one cat sinking his fangs into another cat's throat, shaking him around to make him black out. He could see guard from the towers see the chaos and give each other worried glances.

"Who let these prisoners into the yard?!" The Warden had arrived. "This is supposed to be a lockdown, not a riot!"

At this, he turned to glare at the cat in charge of the control room. But all the warrior did was blush in embarrassment as he snuck away quickly before he was caught.

**...**

"Ma'am, there's a riot going on. I'm here to protect you."

Bearclaw looked away from Rose in time to see a warrior pant, his face covered in scars. One of his ears had been torn to ribbons and looked like it was bleeding.

"I'll be fine," Rose retorted calmly, facing the warrior. "I don't need any protection."

"Believe me, she doesn't," Bearclaw gave a small chuckle.

The guard gave Rose a concerned look. "I'm sorry, Rose, but I'm under direct orders from your uncle to make sure nothing happens to you. That's all."

But at that, Bearclaw seized the chance. Quickly, he swiped some fire claws at the guard's paws, making him yelp in pain, as he rushed out of the room. But right before Rose could reach him, he slammed the door shut, meddling with the lock and locking it. Ashfeather's plan was doing well after all.

But before he could move on, he saw Rose's eyes and felt a stab of guilt; they were glowing with anger and sadness as he saw a tear slide down her face. The dark tabby tom closed his eyes, knowing that he would have to make up with her as soon as possible...but now wasn't the time. So he gave a small mew and ran off towards the courtyard.

_StarClan help Rose!_

**...**

Ashfeather led the three prisoners around at the bottom of another tower, trying to stay out of the chaos. They were getting so near to their goal, but he seemed to be so far away now. Relief ran through his veins when he saw Bearclaw grab a big black cat by the neck with his jaws and slam him to the ground. When this was done, the big FireClan warrior ran over to them, panting.

"There you are!" Ashfeather meowed. "So we're all here. Now all we gotta do..." He flicked his tail to the top of another tower. "...is to grab the Warden and get to the gondolas."

"How do we do that?" Bearclaw asked.

Ashfeather looked back at him, knowing he hadn't thought this through. "I'm...not sure."

Bearclaw stared at him for a few minutes before he let his long foreclaws sink into the ground. "Rrrr...dammit, Ashfeather! I thought you thought this through!" he growled.

"I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through!" Ashfeather hissed back. He had just meowed the same thing he had been thinking.

"Maybe not everything, but this is important!" Bearclaw hissed, unsheathing his claws.

"Uh...dudes? I think your girl's takin' care of it all," Striker suddenly meowed, flicking his short yet stocky tail away.

Ashfeather looked out from behind Striker's shoulder and gaped in surprise. Echo had leapt easily over the heads of the nearest fighting cats and was now sprinting quickly on the sea of heads. Another prisoner fighting nearby looked surprised to feel something on his head. The red tabby she-cat was now getting closer as she leapt onto the tower and scaled up the wall rapidly like a spider. She pushed herself from the wall as she back-flipped to land her on all four paws on some pipes below the platform.

_What a leap! _Ashfeather thought, making him feel more proud of his mate.

Echo leapt up from below the platform to a railing as a guard ran by and started to FireBend. She jumped off the railing, narrowly missing the flames, and swiped her claws at his eyes, making him howl as he was blinded. Two warriors arrived, and one of them aimed a FireBending back kick towards her, but she dodged and used a paw to trip his other leg, sending him to the ground with a loud thud. The other guard lunged at her with unsheathed claws, but Echo ducked and leapt to the railing behind him. She quickly jumped up onto the wall, leaving the guard staring at her, dumbfounded.

Echo began climbing the wall with fierce determination as the warden looked down with shock. The Tribe cat flung herself over the railing and landed down on the platform. The guard near the warden got into a stance, but before he did so, Echo slid on the ground and tripped him over with a forepaw. The warden attempted to move, but she got up, grabbed his neck with her claws, and slammed him down to the ground, her other paw positioned in front of the warden's face should he attempt to fight back.

"You wouldn't dare, bitch," the black-&-white tom snarled, glaring at her.

Quickly, Echo spun the warden around and brought all his paws together as she tied them rapidly with a red string. She leapt back behind, pulling down the warden's collar and turning it around so the tag was now in his mouth.

"Sorry, Warden, but you're my prisoner now," Echo purred before slamming him down to the ground once again. As the toms arrived, she called, "We've got the Warden! Now let's get out of here!"

Emberstar panted as he picked up the Warden by the scruff. "That's some girl."

Ashfeather nodded dreamily, admiring how strong and beautiful she was. "Tell me about it."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Under the gondola tower, prisoners were still rioting below. The small pack of cats quickly ran up a staircase towards the gondola. Ashfeather was amazed to feel that they were going to be the first prisoners to ever leave the Boiling Island alive.

"We're almost there," Echo panted beside her mate.

Ashfeather looked behind him and saw the warden slung over Striker's shoulder. The guards at the gondola proceeded to FireBend at them, but Bearclaw shoved Ashfeather aside and seized the flame, dissipating it immediately. Then, as more guards came over to try and assist the other warriors, the dark tabby unsheathed his claws menacingly.

"Back off. We've got the Warden," he spat. Ashfeather realized he sounded like the Bearclaw that had been hunting them down ever since leaf-bare.

He looked around and saw the Warden look up from Striker's shoulder and mumble something under the tie. The guards loosened their stances and reluctantly stood to the side. Bearclaw gave them a nod and yowled, "Let's go!"

So the pack slowly and warily prowled past the guards with their tails raised should the guards try to attack them. Bearclaw stopped at the end of the platform of the gondola area while the rest ran towards the gondola. Echo was the one who reached their first and slid the door open easily.

"Everyone in," the red tabby ordered.

Ashfeather nodded, gave her a lick on the ear, and leapt into the gondola first, followed by the rest. He looked back to see Bearclaw still at the platform as the FireClan warrior ran to the lever, pushing it down. Beside the gondola, the ropes broke off as it loosened and uncoiled like a snake. The machine slowly moved off, leaving Bearclaw behind, but the dark tabby didn't seem to care; instead, he kicked the lever several times with his hind legs. He turned his broad head and looked up to see the guards running towards him. With one final kick, he successfully broke the lever and ran towards the gondola.

He leapt off the edge and sailed over the railings with fire balls sailing over his head. Quickly, Ashfeather reached his head over and caught Bearclaw's scruff, but he staggered with the weight; Bearclaw seemed to weigh as much as a small badger. Bearclaw managed to grab hold to the sides of the gondola with his claws as Ashfeather dragged him inside.

"What the hell were you doing?!" the dark gray tabby snapped.

"I'm making it so they can't stop us," Bearclaw panted.

Ashfeather saw this plan this way now. "Huh...way to think ahead!"

Echo nodded, hearing them. "We're on our way."

"Wait. Who's that?"

The two younger toms looked over to where Emberstar was looking at. To Ashfeather's horror, Frostfire, Aya, and some guards were back at the gondola tower as they looked over at the fleeing gondola.

Bearclaw's lips peeled back to reveal his recently-whitened fangs. "That's a problem," he spat as the guards proceed to bow to Frostfire in respect. "It's my sister and her friend."

But just then, Frostfire was now looking at the gondola before she turned her head to the side. Ashfeather could see her yellow eyes narrow when she turned to the warrior next to her, who was shuffling his forepaws. And suddenly, she sliced her claws across his neck, catching the handcuffs from the necklet in her jaws before leaping onto the gondola lines.

Aya followed her and flipped away, proceeding to run on the line. Frostfire ran beside her, making a large blue flame and throwing a jet of it from her tail at the escapists. a huge jet of blue At that, she propelled herself from the ground into the air, FireBending another huge jet of fire with her paws this time, as the force slid her across the line. As the FireClan cats got closer, Bearclaw and Echo looked around at each other; they had been victims of their abuse and would not stand by and let them slaughter them all.

"This is a rematch I've been waiting for," Echo snarled, unsheathing her claws.

"Me too," Bearclaw hissed, doing the same. _Frostfire better watch out this time!_

He proceeded to climb up to the gondola's roof, growling as the two she-cats got nearer than before to the gondola. Ashfeather and Echo had joined them, his space sword in Ashfeather's jaws, and Bearclaw could tell that they could share the revenge. But as for he himself, he knew as the enemies stopped across from them, his revenge was just for Frostfire.

Finally, with an evil grin on her face, Frostfire stood up and lashed blue fire at Bearclaw with her paws. Bearclaw jumped and Bended the flames away while Aya tried to chi block Echo, but the Tribe cat blocked all her shots skillfully. Echo then tried to lash her claws out at Aya, but the white she-cat threw her head up and caught her paw in her teeth. They struggled fleetingly with each other, neither one gaining the upper hand. Echo swiped with her other paw, but Aya leapt away as fast as she could.

Then Aya leapt into the gondola, entering through the opening and swiftly exiting by another opening back onto the roof. Leaping behind Echo, she tried to chi block her again, but Echo dodged at the last moment, quickly lashing out with her claws, catching her on the chin. Echo was now cornered near the gondola's metal extension which linked to the cable.

Frostfire, in the meantime, was throwing a blue flame at Bearclaw, but her brother split the flame apart with his paws, dissipating it. Ashfeather leapt forth and lashed his sword at Frostfire, but the black she-cat dodged it, and as the sword finished its arc, she stood up again and sent a flame at him. Ashfeather leapt back as Bearclaw took over, breaking the flame apart with his paws and FireBending towards his sister. The dark tabby sent a fire swipe at her feet just as she leapt into the air and turned before landing back down with a grin.

Her eyes suddenly widened and blinked as Bearclaw saw Ashfeather's space sword glint in the sunlight. She moved back until she was pushed near the edge of the roof, where Ashfeather backed off and Bearclaw took the lead, swiping at his sister's paws. Frostfire leapt up and landed in a crouching position, balancing only on her forepaws. She quickly moved her hind legs across her body and FireBended at the toms, who dodged.

The fire traveled towards Echo and Aya as they also parted to let the flame pass by. Below, Striker looked up while the Warden fidgeted beside him. Bearclaw looked down for a bit to see the latter struggling against his bonds before getting back into the fight.

"There's the Warden. I see him!"

At this, Striker poked his head out of the gondola, but it was too late to react. The Warden had appeared beside him and pulled down the tie covering his mouth.

"Cut the line!" he screeched before Striker covered his mouth with his paw and held him back.

Bearclaw's heart stopped when he heard those words. Did the Warden expect his guards to do this and send them all to their deaths? What would Goldwing, Silverheart, and the rest say if they saw their corpses in the boiling water?

The second guard turned around. "Did you hear? He wants us to cut the line."

"But if we cut the line, there's no way he'll survive," the third guard meowed.

"He knows that," the second guard retorted.

So a metal object was being brought near the wheel that contained the line as it sparked under the friction. A warrior was struggling to hold the metal object in place while two cats behind him were holding a huge hacksaw.

Quickly, Frostfire shot fire towards her brother, but Bearclaw once again broke the fire apart and sent another shot towards his sister. The FireClan deputy leapt up again and FireBended it back as she landed. But as the two teams of cats fought each other, they lost their balance as the gondola stopped suddenly.

The machine was now swaying to and fro precariously. Ashfeather let out a yowl of horror as he slid off the roof, but just in time, Bearclaw grabbed his scruff again and tried to pull him on board. It took a bit longer than usual, but in the end, he managed to get his new friend back onto his ledge. And once the gondola stopped moving, Bearclaw pulled Ashfeather back up again.

"They're about to cut the line!" Aya called, climbing up the metal extension to Frostfire, who was regaining her balance. One of Aya's cheeks had been slashed by Echo's claws while Frostfire had endured lashes of claws on her fur.

Frostfire turned her head back to the tower as Bearclaw did the same. Aya was right; even now, these cats were now proceeding to saw the line in half. Just then, another gondola had move up beside them, and Aya leapt over there in a quick leap.

"Then it's about time we leave," Frostfire sneered, propelling herself from the roof with her FireBending. Looking over her shoulder, she added, "Goodbye, brother."

Bearclaw was still holding Ashfeather's scruff in his jaws, looking up at his sister, who stopped Bending and leapt over onto the other gondola's roof. As the other gondola moved back to the tower, he knew that this battle had become a draw for now, a battle of strength. However, another worrying thing came to his mind: the line was being cut, and they could all be boiled to death in the boiling lake.

Scrabbling noises told him that his other friends had slipped into the booth underneath their paws. Bearclaw did the same, seeing Emberstar look towards the island in worry and Striker holding his large black paw over the Warden's mouth. A small pool of blood and a stench of fear-scent and blood told him that the black-&-white cat had been castrated.

"They're cutting the line!" Bearclaw roared. "The gondola's about to go!"

"I hope this thing floats," Emberstar grunted, bracing himself.

Ashfeather looked on in horror, preparing for the end to come. But just then, stilettos flew into the fight as the guards holding the saw were thrown off, yowling. A stiletto pinned the guard's paw to the structure, yowling at the blood running from the wound as the guard next to him met the same fate.

"What are you doing?!" the first guard snapped.

"Saving the ass who dumped me," came the retort.

Ashfeather looked around in time to see the cat who had arrived. Rose was stalking towards the guards, her dark tortoiseshell fur bristling and her claws unsheathed. Around her neck, she carried a small black bag filled with stilettos.

Snarling, she released a stiletto into the dock while a guard proceeded to FireBend at her. Rose threw the stilettos at the warriors as she leapt up to avoid the flames. Some of the warriors were pinned by her weapons while others fell dead to the ground, blood gushing out of their wounds. The guards who remained untouched continue to attack Rose, who slid across the floor, narrowly missing the flames.

She slid across the two wheels as she stood up and released more stilettos from her bag. The cats who ran towards her now got pinned down by the scruffs by her weapons. She quickly grabbed a she-cat by the scruff and used her as a shield as she threw more stilettos at the guards behind her. The tortoiseshell released another stiletto and brought the female guard to the ground, clawing at her face in the process.

Quickly, she kicked away the metal object that was preventing the lines from being loosened. The wheel turned around, and the gondola continued to move on.

"Is that who I think that is?" Ashfeather asked in awe.

Bearclaw nodded weakly in shock. "Yeah...it's Rose."

The others joined in to look back at the tower. Rose was still fending off the guards by herself, slicing at their faces with her claws and tearing off their ears with her fangs. She looked back around and met Bearclaw's eyes, making him nod back to her. Bearclaw felt his heart beat a bit when he gazed back at her; it seemed she had finally forgiven him.

"What the hell is she doing?!" Frostfire's scream made them look around.

Beside her, Aya shrugged and made an "I don't know" noise in her throat.

Finally, to Bearclaw's relief, the gondola reached the outer part of the crater. The door opened once they reached the ground, and Echo padded out with Ashfeather, Bearclaw, Emberstar, and Striker behind her. Emberstar flicked his tail to Striker and then to the inside of the gondola. Nodding to the WaterClan leader, Striker grabbed the Warden's scruff in his jaws and threw the black-&-white tom back in.

"Sorry, Warden," Emberstar chuckled as the warden continued to struggle. "But your record is officially broken."

At that, he walked away.

All five cats ran up a rocky hill, panting but not stopping until they were away from the FireClan prison. Around them were several holes, and Ashfeather knew there had to be rabbits or even sand grouse nearby. But for now, they could not stop for fresh-kill, for FireClan would surely be on their tails right about now.

"Well, we made it out," Echo panted, sitting down. "Now what?"

But Ashfeather stopped as he saw Bearclaw stop in his tracks, looking back. "Bearclaw, what are you doing?"

"My sister was on that island," was all the tabby murmured.

"Yeah, and she's probably right behind us," Ashfeather groaned, rolling his eyes. "So let's not stop, okay?"

Bearclaw padded to the edge of the rocks and looked down into a gully. "What I mean is she got to the prison here somehow. There," he suddenly meowed, flicking his tail over at something.

Ashfeather joined him at the cliff and gaped at what he saw: a FireClan zeppelin docked at the shore. But it didn't matter. All five cats had escaped from this prison alive and well...a few scars and injuries, yes, but they had escaped from FireClan's ultimate prison. Their plan on defeating Darkstar was getting closer by the minute.

But for now, all they had to do was get back to the western AirClan camp and reunite with the other cats.

**...**

"Leave us."

Rose had been captured during the fight and forced down onto her belly. She was then picked up and brought over to Frostfire, who was glaring down at her with all the frostiness of ice. Blood was covering her face, making her look like she was wearing a red mask, as scars decorated her black pelt.

Behind her, Aya was staring at Rose and back at the deputy, looking quite frightened. She did not get away unscathed either; one of her cheeks had been sliced by a claw, blood still trickling to the floor. But Rose felt a little bit bad for the white she-cat, for she was probably scared into following the FireClan deputy. All that mattered for now...was that Bearclaw escaped.

Rose looked back up at Frostfire, who spat, "I never expected this from you. "But why?" she added, sounding very deadly as she lowered her head. "Why would you do it? You know the consequences."

"I guess you just don't know others as well as you think you do," Rose retorted. "Looks like you miscalculated this time. I love Bearclaw even more than I fear you."

Frostfire's face scrunched up in nothing but fury. "No, YOU miscalculated, Rose! You should have feared me more!"

The two she-cats got into their battle poses, Rose unsheathing her claws. Frostfire did the same, her claws glinting under the sunlight. Rose did not care if Bearclaw never came back, but...she had seen one of the Avatar Cat's friends with him and the Tribe cat she attacked before. If her mate was working with the Avatar Cat now...then peace could come to the Clans after all.

Letting out a screech, Frostfire sprang at Rose as her bloodied claws were outstretched. But as she was getting ready to strike, Aya suddenly leapt forth, jabbing her neck with a few swipes and slamming the deputy hard to the ground. Rose was stunned; Aya was now fighting against the cat she had followed out of fear. Frostfire fell to the ground with a gasp while Aya leapt away, looking horrified at what she had done.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" the white she-cat mewed, nudging Rose away.

But just then, a few warriors surrounded them, blocking any escape they had been planning.

"You're both fools," Frostfire snarled. "You have broken a rule in the Warrior Code: defend your Clan even at the cost of your life. Instead, you have turned against your deputy and betrayed the Clan by helping those prisoners escape. You are no longer warriors of FireClan."

She was slowly getting to her paws, slipping on her own blood while she glared at her former friends. Aya let out a gasp as she was thrown to the ground by a guard while Rose snarled when another warrior did the same to her.

"What shall we do with them, miss?" a warrior asked, helping the deputy get back up.

Frostfire glared at her former friends with all the hatred she could muster. "Put them in a place where not even the vulture droppings can land on their heads," she snarled. "And let them rot for all eternity!"

**...**

The prisoners made it back to the AirClan camp as they docked the zeppelin near its structures. Bearclaw looked down below to see Goldwing, Silverheart, and Nightfoot standing in front of the zeppelin in wonder. It was a tiring journey over the past few days, but he felt like it was all worth it...though he wished Rose was okay.

"What are you doing in this thing?" Silverheart asked in suspicion. "And what happened to the war balloon?"

Bearclaw shrugged. "Eh...it got destroyed."

Goldwing chuckled, "Sounds like a crazy hunting trip."

"Did you at least get some good food?" Nightfoot asked, licking her lips. "I'm getting sick of eating moss all the time."

"The best food of all," Ashfeather purred, sounding just like a warrior poet. "We have here the food of friendship and fatherhood."

From the zeppelin, Echo and Emberstar padded off the small bridge. Striker followed shortly, waving a black paw to everyone and purring, "Yo, I'm new. What's up?"

Silverheart let out a small gasp...then she rasped "...Dad!" and ran over towards him.

The dark gray tom gave his daughter a warm smile as she embraced him. "Hey, Silverheart."

"How are you here? What's going on?" the silver tabby she-cat asked him as she let go. Turning to her brother, she asked, "Where did you and Bearclaw go?"

Ashfeather gave a nervous chuckle. "We...kinda went to a FireClan prison."

Bearclaw nodded, confirming what the dark gray tabby warrior said. Silverheart gently pulled Ashfeather over to her and Emberstar as all three WaterClan cats embraced. Bearclaw felt a warm smile spread across his face. This reminded him so much of his Uncle Irontail, his cousin Wolfcloud, and his mother Bearheart. Kin was very important to him...more important than ever before now.

_And I'll help them until the end. I promise._

But his thoughts were soon interrupted by Nightfoot, who asked, "Seriously, you guys didn't find any food?"

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Well, we're finished with this chapter at last! So Sokka, what'd you think of this one?**

**Sokka: It wasn't good...it was AWESOME! We finally had our dad and the girl of my life free from that trash heap prison! Even if it was in cat form, of course, but it was so cool!**

**AvatarCat12: And what's more is that you succeeded. By the way, I've got only a few more weeks until I go back to Alabama.**

**Sokka: Good luck with the rest of your vacation. And if you don't mind, I'd like to say the review thing and the preview for The Southern Bandits. (To the readers) Those of you who read and review get a Warden voodoo doll; this one will be like a WWE Brawling Buddy which you can beat up. Advice and constructive criticism are okay, but no flames! **

**Preview: An attack on the temple has forced AvatarClan to flee. However, Silverheart's hatred towards Bearclaw has become even harsher, making it difficult to be friends with her. So Bearclaw tries to figure out why she's behaving like this, which leads to her past: the death of her mother. When he finds out, will he help her in letting go of her past? Or will her dark side turn her into the monster she hates?**

**Both: See ya next time! And Happy early Thanksgiving!**


	16. The Southern Outlaws

**AvatarCat12: So now, Sokka and Zuko have seen their cat forms and the journey they made. So now...Katara will be returning from her vacation to rejoin the commentary! Let's welcome her back with open arms, folks!  
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**Katara: (Comes into the office and hugs AvatarCat12) Hey, Avatar Cat! It's so good to see you again! But... (Her gaze darkens) ...this must be a bad time for a reunion.**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah...this is when you see your mother's killer's cat form. But at least you didn't kill him.**

**Katara: I wanted to...but he deserved worse. So is it okay if I say the disclaimer?**

**AvatarCat12: (Smiles) Sure.**

**Disclaimer: He owns neither series. If he did, he'd make this crossover an anime series.**

**Summary: ****An attack on the temple has forced AvatarClan to flee. However, Silverheart's hatred towards Bearclaw has become even harsher, making it difficult to be friends with her. So Bearclaw tries to figure out why she's behaving like this, which leads to her past: the death of her mother. When he finds out, will he help her in letting go of her past? Or will her dark side turn her into the monster she hates?**

**Uploading Date: November 20, 2012**

**Both: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Southern Outlaws**_

_Wrrr..._

The whirring sound made Bearclaw lift his head and look tiredly around. Everyone had been sleeping in a circle...except for Goldwing, who had been sleeping on Archie's head. Suddenly, though, the golden tom looked up at the fountain with birds surrounding them and then leapt to his paws to use AirBending at a flying object.

_It's a bomb! _Bearclaw sat up quickly, catching sight of the weapon that almost hit them. With a yowl, he cried, "Wake up!"

CRASH!

The bomb had destroyed a cliff of the temple, waking up everyone. More bombs were now being hurled towards the western AirClan camp from below the gray clouds while Goldwing joined Bearclaw to see who was attacking black shapes were coming out at them from the clouds...FireClan ships rising from the clouds.

A canon from one of the air ships fired, destroying a bridge on the temple. Goldwing sprinted back into the sleeping area and twirled his staff, AirBending a huge gust of air and closing the doors. However, more bombs were hurled at the temple and exploded.

The ceiling crumbled and shook, and one of the pieces dislodged, falling fast at Silverheart, who gape and froze in fear at the falling object. On impulse, Bearclaw leapt forth, grabbed her by the scruff, and pulled her away from the object. They rolled and tumbled away before the ceiling piece landed with a thud at the spot Silverheart was at.

But Silverheart did even not thank him. Instead, she spat furiously up at him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Keeping you from being crushed like a beetle," Bearclaw retorted. "In other words...I'm _saving your life_."

"I'm not crushed, okay?! Now get off me!" the silver tabby growled irritably, sliding out from under his heavier weight.

Bearclaw glared after her, sighing, "I'll take that as a thank you."

He looked around at a wall being crumbled apart to reveal a tunnel. A closer look told him that Nightfoot and Brindleheart were the ones who had created the tunnel; they were the only pure EarthBending cats in AvatarClan.

"Come on!" Nightfoot yowled. "We can get out through here!"

So all the cats gathered around as they began to evacuate the tunnel. Goldwing was pulling on Archie's reins towards the tunnel, but the dragon was struggling. However, Bearclaw did not go into the tunnel; narrowing his eyes, he could see a familiar black cat glaring down at them, the sun catching a yellow glint from the eyes.

"Bearclaw?" Goldwing asked. "What're you doing?"

"You guys go," the dark tabby tom replied, sliding his claws out. "Go ahead, and I'll hold them off. I think this might be the time for a little family visit."

At that, he sprinted forth towards the airships, ignoring Goldwing yowl of "Bearclaw! No!"

"Come on!" Ashfeather interjected as he and Silverheart pulled him back by the tail. "We gotta get out of here!"

So they all went back to pull on the struggling Archie's reins.

Meanwhile, Bearclaw leapt over the partially destroyed temple doors and rolled away from a big bomb flying and exploding with black smoke everywhere. He jumped out from the smoke with a smoke sphere around him, unharmed as he started to swipe his fire claws towards an air ship. It got hit by the flames, but this wasn't the one Frostfire was on as he turned to the correct one. He was a little disturbed to see her smiling crazily; perhaps she was taking the betrayal of her friends at the Boiling Island hard.

"What are you doing here?!" he called to her.

"You mean it's not obvious yet?!" Frostfire screeched, her eyes bloodshot and her jet black fur bristling. "I'm here to celebrate becoming an only child!"

At that, she leaptover the railings and swiped blue flaming claws at her brother as the area he was at exploded, covering the entire in black smoke. Bearclaw leapt away from a pillar breaking apart as cracks and fissures rapidly appeared. He got to his paws quickly and ran across the floor, ran up a pillar, and launched himself off it. He sailed through the air and swiped fire claws at the observation stand, his first two shots missing but the third one finally hitting it.

Frostfire leapt off and landed below before the flames hit while Bearclaw fell rapidly and tried to hold on to the FireClan symbol on the airship. Noticing a cloud floating next to him, he pawed it over to him until he was hidden from his sister's view.

Back at the crumbling structure of the sleeping area, Nightfoot was panting hard, her forepaws holding up the structure as long as she could. The older warriors were trying to pull Archie into the tunnel, but he kept struggling to keep away from the dark.

"I can't get him in there," Goldwing grunted as he pulled. "Archie hates tunnels!"

"There's no way we can fly out of here," Silverheart reminded him.

Goldwing let the reins go as he meowed, "Well then, we'll have to find a way."

"He's right. We need to split up." Ashfeather ran over to the other cats of AvatarClan and told them, "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship."

But Silverheart's blue eyes were wide with shock as she stalked forth and yowled, "No! We can't leave them! FireClan can't separate our family again!"

"It'll be okay," Emberstar replied, laying a gentle paw on her shoulder. "It's not forever. We'll meet again soon enough."

Silverheart looked like she didn't want to do this, but she gave her father a hug and ran back to hugged his son good-bye before the latter pulled Echo away.

Before the others fled into the tunnel, the WaterClan leader, Brindleheart, The Dude, Graylimp, and Striker looked back at them before disappearing into the darkness. Archie moved to the side while Silverheart was already in the saddle, helping Echo up into the saddle, while Nightfoot touched the wall to make sure they had gotten away safely.

As Goldwing grabbed Archie's reins in his jaws, Nightfoot EarthBended herself onto the dragon, meowing, "I can clear that away and we can fly out through there."

"Umm, there's an awful lot of fire in that direction," Echo piped up, flicking her tail over to the airships.

Goldwing flinched when he saw the fire lash around, but he hid the fear from his face. He meowed over the sound of falling rocks, "We'll get through. Now let's go."

So Archie lifted off as Nightfoot Bended a shield of earth in front of its face to protect him from the furious fire. Frostfire had turned around and spotted the Asian Lung dragon, FireBending at the earth shield, but it didn't break apart, ducking as Archie flew over her. Nightfoot then got to EarthBend the shield into pieces, but Frostfire sneered and looked back to a rising airship behind her. Bearclaw was standing on the other airship, looking back.

Bearclaw looked up at his friends looking down at him in a surprised way, but all that mattered now was to defeat Frostfire. So he leapt high into the air and soared at her, who FireBended at him, but he leapt from one ship to the other, remembering the training he had from his uncle. At last, when he got near her, he swiped the flame aside and FireBended back, but she leapt back to avoid the flame.

The dark brown tabby tom landed in front of her, swiping his claws at her, but she swiped his paw away with her own. He saw her send another shot to her brother, who also swiped it aside with a snarl. Frostfire swerved to the side, and he followed her, noticing Archie flying above the clouds and dodging the fire.

Silverheart was standing up on the saddle with water circling around her to prevent the fire from hitting the saddle. But by then, various elite FireBenders had appeared and were now standing at the edge to FireBend. Goldwing pulled the reins, and Archie ended up flying higher to get away from the fire. Archie flew over the air ship while Goldwing tried to gain control over his dragon, but the former was groaning and roaring in fear.

_StarClan help them._

Bearclaw looked away as he dodged his sister's claw swipe while she sent some shots to him. In time, Bearclaw kicked away the flames with both hind paws and kept them away while closing in on his sister. Just when he got to her, Frostfire lashed her left paw first out, but he grabbed her paw and tossed her away before leaping at her with his flaming claws. She leapt back at him, and the resulting clash caused a huge explosion of black smoke covering the air ship.

When the smoke cleared, Frostfire was skidding on her back across the surface of the air ship. She got flipped onto her belly as she struggled to hold on but was thrown off. Bearclaw tumbled across the surface, his eyes widen in fear as he fell off the air ship, knowing StarClan couldn't directly save him from a fall. Fortunately, Archie flew under him while Silverheart grabbed his scruff and pulled him back into the safety of the saddle. He looked back with the others to see Frostfire spinning and falling like a dead leaf.

"She's not going to make it," Bearclaw gasped. Even though he knew his sister was a complete sociopath, he did not want her to die.

Just then, Frostfire unsheathed her claws and FireBended withher paws, the force propelling her to the nearby she neared the cliff, she stopped FireBending and sank her long claws into the rocks as she skidded down, pushing her legs against the rocks to slow down her descend.

"Of course," Bearclaw sighed, turning back to lick at his bleeding foreleg.

**...**

Night had fallen when the cats reached their new camp: the top of a rocky hill. After they set up camp, they had hunted for their prey and were now seated around a campfire. Archie was now sleeping at the side while Tobi nipped at some damaged feathers on his wings.

**(Author's Note: I'm hereby changing Tobias' name to just Tobi. Figured it'd be better that way.)**

It really felt like he was part of the wild Clans of the past, hunting, fighting, and hanging out with friends. Some of the cats had looked disturbed after the fighting (Silverheart and Nightfoot) while others had felt accelerated. But still, Bearclaw was happy to have everyone around him still alive.

"Wow...camping in the wild," Goldwing remarked, looking up from his starling. "It really feels like old times again, doesn't it?"

Bearclaw pawed aside his half-eaten rabbit and purred playfully, "Well, if you really want to feel like old times, I could, um...chase you around and try to capture you."

At this, he pounced on top of him and cuffed him on the ear again before leaping back again. The cats around him purred and laughed in amusement, and Bearclaw joined in, feeling like he was becoming his uncle every day.

"Ha ha," Silverheart mumbled, not looking up. Bearclaw looked over at her, but she turned her head away from him. He wondered why she was not laughing with her friends, but now was not the time to figure it out.

Suddenly, Ashfeather raised a cup of water and cheered, "To Bearclaw, folks! Who knew after all those times he tried to wipe us all out, when today, he's our hero! Hell, if he hadn't joined us...some stinking badger would."

**(Author's Note: Got that from Peter Griffin on Family Guy.)**

"Here, here!" the others (except for Silverheart) joined him.

"Guys, really?" Bearclaw purred, smiling around at them. "Come on, I'm touched. I really don't deserve this."

But suddenly, Silverheart stood up, snarled "Good. You really don't!" and stalked off.

Hearing this, Bearclaw's good feeling was gone. Silverheart had been getting along with him (somewhat), but now, she was treating him as if he had just betrayed them. A small snarl came over his face when he recalled the time he tried to be nice to her and her harshly rejecting his offers. It wasn't fair...even after the chance she gave him.

"What's up with her?" Ashfeather asked, staring after his sister.

Bearclaw sighed and stood up. "I wish I knew," he mewed, stalking away after her.

And before he left, he could hear Ashfeather ask, "What's up with _him_?"

Padding among the large boulders that stuck up like snake fangs, Bearclaw climbed over each one, trying to follow Silverheart's scent. She could not have gone too far, for this was the night. He then spotted her padding over towards the cliff, and when she saw him, her eyes narrowed with hatred before running a bit faster. Bearclaw sighed and just followed the chase.

Finally, he caught up with the WaterClan warrior near the edge of a cliff, the full moon partially covered by some clouds. Silverheart was sitting at the edge of the cliff, glaring up at the moon and scooted away from him when he got to her. Now was not the time for ignoring someone; now was the time for talking.

"This isn't fair," Bearclaw told her, standing just behind her. "Everyone else seems to trust me now. But what is it with you? All you've ever done since I joined you was insult me and try to ignore me. So what's up?"

At that, Silverheart turned her head around and snarled, "Oh, everyone trusts you now, eh? _I_ was the first cat to trust you, remember? Back in BoulderClan?" she added, flicking her tail towards the ocean. "And you turned around and stabbed me in the back! And you betrayed your uncle! Betrayed all of us! That's a perfectly good reason to not trust you anymore!"

Bearclaw sighed, lowering his head. He still blamed himself for doing so; if he hadn't betrayed them, Silverheart would be nicer, and Irontail would be here. He lifted his head, meowing, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it to happen."

"Fuck you! That's what I expect from Tigerstar's descendant!" Silverheart spat, her voice as cold as the coldest ice of leaf-bare. "Look what Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, even Brokenstar did back then to the ancient Clans! You're no different from them!"

"Hey, not all of Tigerstar's descendants are bad," Bearclaw defended himself. "But what can I do to make it up to you?"

Silverheart stalked towards him, hissing, "You really want to know? How about you re-conquer BoulderClan in the name of StarClan? Or maybe...you could bring my mother back!"

Bearclaw stared back at her, not backing down. But before he could stop himself, he snapped, "But how can I? She's dead, remember?"

SMACK!

He reeled back as he felt her paw slap his cheek, scratching the injured side of his face. With a snort, the silver tabby she-cat pushed past him hard with her shoulder, glaring over her shoulder with disgust before disappearing into the shadows. Bearclaw sat there feeling hurt, not from the attack but by what she said. He had tried everything to make it all up to her, but all she did was throw it back in his face.

But perhaps Ashfeather would know what was wrong with her. He knew the dark gray tabby tom was very loving (if quite annoying) towards his sister, and he could read her like the sun. Feeling that his new friend knew what to do, Bearclaw got back up and padded his way back to camp.

**...**

As he got back, Bearclaw spotted Ashfeather's nest out from the rock between them, a couple of bushes propped against a rock. He didn't look where he was going until the last minute, where he accidentally bumped into another cat.

"Sorry. Wrong tent." That was Echo, blushing.

"It's fine," Bearclaw meowed. "I'm sorry too. Do you need to talk with Ashfeather?"

Still blushing, Echo shook her head, replying, "Nope! Not me."

At that, she padded away.

Bearclaw stared after her before sighing and padding inside...but what he saw bug his eyes out in an astonished and quite disgusted way. Ashfeather was lying on his back on a mat surrounded by candles that displayed a romantic mood. There was a bunch of roses hung above him while he held one in his mouth, and he looked like he was trying to entice someone to sleep with him.

"Well, hellooo...oh shit, Bearclaw!" he yelped, sitting up. He swallowed the flower painfully and spat out some petals, coughing, "Why would I be expecting any one different? So what's on your mind?" he asked, clearing his throat.

Bearclaw sighed. "It's your sister. She hates me, and I don't know why! I mean, yeah, I did trick her in BoulderClan, but I was different. But I do care what she thinks of me."

Ashfeather shook his head. "Nah, she doesn't hate you. She never hates anyone. Except maybe FireClan cats." His eyes widened as he realized what he just said. "No, I mean, uh, not cats who are good but used to be bad. I mean, bad cats. FireClan cats who are so bad, who have never been good and probably won't be!"

"Stop," Bearclaw meowed, holding a paw up. "Okay, listen. I know this may seem random, but I want to know what happened to your Mother. You can tell me."

"What?" Ashfeather asked, looking surprised. "Why would you want to know that?"

Bearclaw meowed, "Silverheart told me about her before when we were imprisoned together in BoulderClan and again just now when she was screeching at me. I think...she's connected her anger about that to her anger at me."

At that, Ashfeather's usually goofy face became serious as he looked to the side. "It's not a day I like to remember...okay, I'll tell you the story." So Bearclaw leaned in close to hear the story.

"Silverheart and I were four moons old, Silverkit and Ashkit. We were playing a snow fort and even throwing snowballs at each other. Of course we'd throw 'em hard, but we were playing, and we never got hurt; that's one good thing of living in a snowy place. On that day, Silverkit had wanted to play a game called Catch The Hare, and I accepted the challenge.

"But before we could play, black snow rained down on the village. We looked around to see the other cats of WaterClan looking up; we lived like the ancient Clans did, living in dens like foxes do. And we saw what this meant.

"'I'll go find Mama!' Silverkit told me, her voice serious as she ran past me. I ran in the other direction just as the ships came in.

"Many of the warriors have seen the black snow before, and they knew what it meant. A raid of FireClan. I had wanted to join up with the warriors even though I was only a four moon old kit. I looked as the warriors and my father let out battle yowls and sprang at the FireClan cats that leapt off of their ships, fire surrounding their claws.

"I was looking at the fight behind the safety of another fort, watching the WaterClan warriors knock the intruders down even before they could attack. Yet we were badly outnumbered, but we managed to hold the off. A warrior was thrown, his throat bleeding, at the foot of the snow fort, so I dumped some snow on top of him and climbed down his back to the ground. But as quickly as they came, they just left."

Ashfeather lowered his head. "I was so thankful when it was over, but...that's because I didn't know yet what have happened." He lifted his head up and rasped on, "I didn't know we lost our mother. Her name was Seamist."

"Wait," Bearclaw interrupted him politely. "Can you remember any details about the cats who raided your camp? What the lead ship looked like?"

"Let's see..." Ashfeather tilted his head to one side to think it over. Finally, he meowed, "I saw what their mascot was. Skuas. The main ship had flags with skuas on them."

Bearclaw felt his mind stir at this description, recalling the temporary allies FireClan had. These cats were a mix of Clan cats and rogues looking for a meal. He meowed, "That's the symbol of the Southern Outlaws. Thanks, Ashfeather."

Ashfeather meowed, "No problem, buddy. Thanks for stopping by." At that, he pushed the tabby out of the tent and let out a sigh, mewing, "Finally! Thought he'd never leave! Time for some fun with Echo."

Bearclaw rolled his eyes at that, but he ignored it and leapt onto a rock that was outside the ferns Silverheart slept in. He looked back at Ashfeather, who looked away and whistled as if he had caught a pet bird. He looked up at the moon and the stars, praying to StarClan to help him give Silverheart the right words and help. Once he finished praying, he laid his head down on his paws, but he did not go to sleep; he wanted to see if she would listen to him.

Finally, hours later when the run rose, he got the chance to talk with her. After not sleeping much (closing his eyes a bit), Silverheart had come over, but she still did not look happy. Instead, she gave him the same icy cold glare she gave him last night.

"What's the matter with you? You look terrible," she remarked unfeelingly.

"Good morning to you too," Bearclaw muttered back sarcastically. He got serious as he added, "Actually, I waited out here all night."

Silverheart glared at him before sitting down and licking her paw. "What do you want now?"

Bearclaw watched as she swiped her paw over her torn ear before he let the words out. "I know who killed your mother...and I'm going to help you find him."

The change was as quick as a fish swimming in the water. Silverheart had stopped grooming herself and looked around at him, surprise on her face. Perhaps no one had even suggested saying this to her in order to avoid her wrath. And then...her look of surprise changed to one of seriousness as her dark blue eyes hardened.

Bearclaw gave her a small nod, relieved to help her out somehow. And helping her find her mother's killer could lead him on the path of becoming her friend.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

_I know who killed your mother...and I'm going to help you find him._

The words Bearclaw had told Silverheart rang in her ears so hard that it hurt. Yet...she felt a bit thankful for him telling her so...even though she was reluctant. She thought she would never find the cat who killed her mother, and she felt her claws sink into the grass as if imagining sinking them into the murderer's throat.

She looked around and saw Archie pawing at the grass and rolling around in it, groaning. Not too far away from him, Ashfeather was strangely making a necklace out of flower, a small yet happy grin on his face.

"I'd like to borrow Archie," Silverheart meowed to Goldwing, who was watching Archie.

Goldwing tilted his head to one side. "Why? Is it your turn to take a little trip with Bearclaw?"

Silverheart nodded. "Yes. Yes, it is."

"Oh." Goldwing looked surprised. "So what's going on?"

"We're going to find the cat who took Mother from me," Silverheart rasped, feeling the anger in her mew. "We're going to make him face justice."

Not far away, Ashfeather had laid down the flower necklace, looking surprised. Silverheart guessed that he must have told someone who passed it to Bearclaw who told this to her.

"Ashfeather told me the story of what happened," Bearclaw meowed. "I know who did it, and I know how to find him."

Goldwing did not look convinced. "And what do you think this would accomplish?"

Silverheart gaped at him briefly before turning away from him. She knew the golden Avatar Cat was a peace-loving cat, and he seemed to know what she was going to do. This must be why he was challenging her in this. But he would not stop her from doing what she wanted to do ever since Seamist was murdered.

"I knew you wouldn't understand," she muttered, walking away from him. "I REALLY knew you wouldn't understand."

"Wait, stop," Goldwing meowed, making her stop in her tracks. "Of course I understand. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage in your heart. How do you think I felt about the SandBenders when they stole Archie away from us? How do you think I felt about FireClan when I found out what happened to my Clan?"

Bearclaw replied, "She needs to do this, Goldwing. This is about getting justice."

Goldwing frowned. "I don't think so. I think it's just about getting revenge."

Not wanting to hear any more of this, Silverheart spun around, snapping, "FINE! Maybe it is about revenge! Maybe revenge is what I need. Maybe that's what he deserves."

"You know...you're sounding like Flash now," Goldwing meowed, mentioning the former leader of the Freedom Fighters. "I think you're becoming like him."

"It's not the same," Silverheart retorted defensively. "Flash attacked the innocent, and he atoned for his actions the last time we saw him. But this cat we're going after...he's nothing but a cruel monster...and that bastard deserves to die."

"Seamist was my mother too," Ashfeather spoke up, padding forth to join the conversation. "And I also feel upset that she's gone. But...Goldwing might be right. I don't think this'll end well."

Hearing this, Silverheart spat, "Well, if you think that, then you didn't love her the way _I_ did!"

Ashfeather looked hurt, his pale blue eyes widened as he croaked, "S-Silverheart!"

Now Silverheart felt a bit guilty for telling this sort of thing to her older littermate. But just like Goldwing, he didn't understand. He didn't understand, for he wasn't there when Seamist hit the snow for the final time in her life, and he wasn't there when her blood spilled on the earth. If he couldn't read the hurt and pain she was feeling at the moment, that was his problem.

Then Goldwing meowed, "The elders in my Clan used to say that revenge is like a two-headed adder. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."

"That's _really_ adorable," Bearclaw growled. "But this isn't nursery school. This is reality."

"Now that I know he's out there...now that I know we can find him..." Silverheart felt her claws sink more into the dirt under her paws. "...I feel like I have no choice."

"Of course you do," Goldwing meowed softly. "Forgiveness."

Bearclaw hissed, "That's the same as doing nothing."

The AirClan warrior shook his head. "It's not. It's easy to do nothing...but it's hard to forgive."

Silverheart glared at him darkly. "It's not just hard, Goldwing...it's impossible."

**...**

Crouching down by the small mud puddle, Silverheart grimaced. She hated getting her fur dirty, but she decided that revenge was more important than clean fur. So she lowered herself into the mud until it reached her belly, rolling around until she was almost covered in mud. Bearclaw had done the same before they went over to Archie and got prepared.

_Good of you to choose vengeance, _a deep menacing voice hissed in her ear. She turned to see the figure of a dark tabby cat with orange eyes and a crooked tail before it vanished. While she packed, the cat had vanished, showing Goldwing and Ashfeather approaching her.

Goldwing meowed seriously, "So you were going to take Archie anyways, weren't you?"

"Yes," Silverheart replied.

"It's okay. I forgive you," Goldwing purred, smiling. "Does that give you any ideas?"

Silverheart knew what she was going to do, but she wasn't falling for it. So she climbed up Archie's horn and meowed, "I know what you're trying to say. So don't try to stop us."

Goldwing frowned. "I wasn't planning to. This is a journey _you_ need to take. You need to face this cat. But when you do face him, please don't choose revenge over reason. Let your anger out and then let it go. Forgive him in the name of our ancestors."

"We'll do that, Guru Goody Two-paws," Bearclaw sighed, throwing his stuff into the saddle and leaping aboard. He sounded as if he was tired of all the preaching.

"Thanks for understanding, Goldwing," Silverheart meowed seriously. To Archie, she called, "Yip yip."

So Archie took off into the night sky. But while Silverheart looked up at the moon, she saw that it was being slowly covered by clouds; this must mean StarClan did not approve of her doing this. For the first time in her life, though, Silverheart rejected what StarClan would think of her getting revenge.

_Good girl. _The dark tabby with the broken tail had appeared before her once again. She saw that it was Brokenstar, a former leader of ShadowClan. The tabby had a sneer on his flat face as he hissed, _I know you don't like Dark Forest cats, but if you become my apprentice of the dark, I can teach you all the ways of revenge on that murderer. What do you say?_

_You sure? _Silverheart asked back silently. Then, her heart filling with black evil, she bowed her head to him and replied, _Very well. I accept you as my mentor, Brokenstar._

Back at camp, Ashfeather was saying to Goldwing, "You know, Goldwing, you're pretty wise for a year old cat."

"Thanks," Goldwing meowed.

"Usually, it gets annoying, but right now, I'm just impressed," Ashfeather purred.

Goldwing's gray eyes narrowed. "I appreciate that."

Then... "So...can I borrow Tobi for a quarter-moon?"

"Huh?" Goldwing asked, turning to him. "What on earth do you need Tobi for?"

The dark gray tabby shrugged.

**...**

"We need to find the Fire Fleet message tower," Bearclaw explained, looking around in the dark starless sky. "All the fleet's movements are synchronized by messenger falcon. And every tower has to be up to date on where everyone is positioned."

"So once we find the communication tower, we bust in and take the information we need, right?" Silverheart asked. Beside her, the ghost of Brokenstar was nodding.

Bearclaw shook his head as Archie flew just above the water and AirBended with its tail to boost himself forward. "Not quite. We need to be stealthy like a shadow and make sure no one sees us. If not, then they'll warn the Southern Outlaws long before we reach them."

Finally, they had arrived at the message tower, a giant dull gray structure that stood on a huge pile of rocks. The two cats landed on rocks nearby as Silverheart WaterBended the water into a raft of ice, and both of them jumped on it. She proceeded to surf the raft and created a tall wave to bring the raft up to the tower before they could jump off.

A door opened, and two warriors walked out, letting Silverheart and Bearclaw quickly sneak pass and into the pipes. They found a room where a brown she-cat was writing at a desk. In the gratings, Silverheart made some WaterBending movements with her tail and made the dish of ink spill onto her paws and the table. The warrior looked at her stained paws and left the table and room to clean up.

Once the warrior was gone, the two warriors slipped into the room and dug through the shelves. Silverheart saw the ghost of Brokenstar doing the same, his crooked tail twitching as he moved his forepaw around in the drawers.

"Okay, Southern Outlaws," Bearclaw meowed, pullingout a black scroll and unrolling it on a table. It was a map a mountain terrain with three flags placed along some points in an inverted triangle. He pointed to the flag on the top right and meowed, "There. There's a small patrol near Dolphin Island."

Silverheart's eyes narrowed. "Here we come, Dolphin Island."

**...**

"You should get some sleep," Bearclaw yawned, stretching dozily as he woke up in the morning sun. "We'll be there in a few hours, and you'll need all your strength."

"Don't worry about my strength," Silverheart hissed, her mud-coated pelt bristling. "I have plenty of that. I'm not the helpless kit I was when they came. The black snow was falling around us, and Ashfeather and I (we were Ashkit and Silverkit back then) were frozen to the spot.

"'I'll go find Mama,' I told Ashkit and ran towards the nursery. I had to weave around the legs of the older cats since we were younger back then. The warriors had just left the entrance of the bramble bush nursery, so I slipped inside and gasped.

"Mother was in a corner of the nursery, bleeding from several wounds on her silver tabby-&-white coat, but she looked defiant and scared at the same time. Towering above her...was him. The murderer. He was a gray cat with dark gray flecks and white legs, which were stained red from the blood of my mother. I could not let him kill her.

"'Mama!' I squeaked. I could feel the tears come into my eyes; I was not brave enough to try and confront him.

"'Let her go, and I'll tell you anything you want,' Mother was meowing.

"I ran forth and tried to get to her, but the warrior shoved me away, snarling, 'You heard your mother, you little scrap of fur! Now get out of here!'

"I backed away, but I mewled, 'Mama...I'm scared.'

"Mother's blue eyes were gentle as she meowed, 'Go find your father, sweetie. And don't worry. I'll handle this.'

"The warrior that was attacking her pinned her to the ground and glared at me from a corner of his eye. His eyes were evil and yellow like a hawk that just spotted a piece of juicy prey. I did not want to stay and be a piece of fresh-kill, so I spun around and fled from the nursery."

Silverheart's voice cracked as she went on, "I began running in the snow, ran as fast as I could to find my father and tell him about the warrior. Soon enough, at the edge of a small hill, I found him fighting against a light brown tom, throwing him into the snow.

"So I called, 'Daddy! Come quick! Mama's in trouble! There's a bad cat in the nursery!'

"Hearing this, Emberstar slashed the enemy warrior's throat open, yowled 'Seamist!', and ran off towards the nursery. But we were too late. When we got there, the emery warrior was gone...and so was she," she finished, her voice cracking.

Beside her, Brokenstar did not look sad that Seamist had been killed; instead, he was grinning rather sadistically as he saw the tears roll down her cheeks. Despite this, Silverheart ignored her ghostly mentor; right now, she could not face this cat alone.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Bearclaw rasped, looking sorrowful as he gently licked the tears away. "Your mother was a brave cat, defending her Clan at the cost of her life."

Silverheart rested a gentle forepaw on her necklace. "I know."

So following Bearclaw's advice, Silverheart had slept the hours away, her dreams haunted by her mother dying and her mother's killer laughing maniacally over her body. Brokenstar was beside her, watching as she would sink her claws into the killer's throat and shook him around like a dog. Another cat had joined Brokenstar, a large ginger-&-white she-cat with an evil glint in her eyes and a threatening aura.

"There!" Bearclaw's voice made her wake up and look up. "See those red flags with the skuas on them? It's the Southern Outlaws."

He tossed her the telescope he had been using, and she peered inside. And there it was: the red flag with the skuas on them. She nodded and tossed the telescope back to the dark brown tabby tom, meowing this in the process:

"Let's do this."

So Bearclaw steered Archie into the water and under the ship, Silverheart having put an air bubble on the dragon's head. Silverheart spotted two FireClan warriors gossiping idly on the deck and sent a stream of water coiling round one of them and the other to look on, stunned. He got pulled into the water with a scream, and the other warriors ran to the side of the ship to look. Archie swam up to the other side of the ship, and Silverheart broke through the surface first, followed shortly by Bearclaw and Archie.

Silverheart started to Bend huge waves on both sides and sent them towards the ship. Before the warriors could scatter or do whatever, the wave slowly closed in, washing them into the ocean where the sharks lurked around. Once this was done, Silverheart did not feel any remorse while Archie continued flying onto the deck.

A lone warrior had managed to stay on deck as he stood up by holding the side of the ship. Archie landed behind him, and the tabby unsheathed his claws and prepared to FireBend. With angry tears in her eyes, Silverheart leapt forth, drove her fangs into the warrior's throat, and threw him overboard into the ocean. The remaining warriors in the water looked over at the last remaining warrior on deck hitting the water.

Finally, the two warriors entered the ship, Silverheart having Bended water around her paws. A door opened, and a black cat with long claws popped out, a sword in his jaws. Bearclaw grabbed the cat's neck and pinned the sword down with his paws as he pushed the warrior back into the storeroom, the latter hitting a pile of stuff. Every warrior but the captain had been either killed by the ocean or just thrown overboard.

Silverheart waited for Bearclaw to finish locking the storeroom door as they headed deeper into the corridor. They had finally reached the captain's room, and Silverheart felt her blood boil at the thought of meeting him. Revenge had never been so near her before.

"This is it," Bearclaw meowed. "Are you ready to face him?"

Silverheart nodded, unsheathing her claws. She could hear Brokenstar hiss, _Don't be afraid of these cats. With my strength, we can end them all._

At this, she felt a painful sting in her heart as she felt her claws unsheathe longer than they should and her muscles grow a bit. Then...with a mighty battle screech, she leapt towards the door and slashed her claws against it with all her might.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Water seeped through the sides of the door and burst open as Silverheart leapt inside, Bearclaw following her dissipate some flames that came at them. The attacker (a gray tom with darker flecks) was FireBending at Bearclaw to no avail. Quickly, the younger cat swiped a shot at the Captain's paws, making him jump back towards the steering wheel.

"Who the hell are you?" the Captain hissed.

"So you don't remember her?" Bearclaw hissed, flicking his tail towards Silverheart. "You will soon enough. Trust me."

So he leapt at the cat, and they both began to wrestle. The gray tom had pinned Bearclaw to the floor, but before he could strike with a raised paw...his foreleg suddenly began to twitch wildly. He struggled and groaned as he tried to contain it with his other foreleg, but he was forced to walk over towards Silverheart, who was BloodBending.

"W-What? W-What's happening to me?"

Silverheart brought down her forelegs, and the gray Captain's body was brought down hard to the floor. Bearclaw, who was getting up, was staring in a shocked way at this technique, but she didn't care. She didn't even care if she promised never to use it again after Tawny attacked her; she wanted to feel this cat's blood on her paws. Then she heard a familiar demonic voice roar at her into her ear.

_Do it! Do it NOW!_

A red mist fell over eyes as she unsheathed her claws and swiped them across the tom's throat. Choking with blood spilling out of his throat, the tom fell to the ground, staring up at them with pure horror in his eyes.

"Think back," Bearclaw meowed, pinning the cat's shoulders down until his belly was soaked with blood. "Think back to the day of your last invasion on the Southern WaterClan camp a year and a half ago."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..." the dying tom choked. "Please...I don't know!"

Bearclaw slashed at his face, snarling, "Damn you, don't lie! Now you look her in the eye and you tell me you don't remember what you did."

The warrior stared weakly up at Silverheart, coughing up blood, as she glared with pure hatred into his face. His gray fur was soaked in his own blood, his legs were bent painfully under his body, and his tail had stopped thrashing. Even his green eyes were...

_Green?_ she thought, her face softening a bit with realization. _My mother's killer didn't have green eyes! His eyes were yellow!_

"It's not him," Silverheart meowed, backing away. "He's not the cat we're looking for."

"What?!" Bearclaw growled, his paw not leaving the dying cat's shoulders. "What do you mean he's not? He's a leader of the Southern Outlaws! He has to be him!"

Silverheart shook her head and padded away, pacing around with her eyes closed. She could not believe she had attacked the wrong cat and made his wound too deep to heal...but she could not feel remorse thanks to Brokenstar prowling beside her. A yowl and a thud told her that Bearclaw had pinned the recovering captain back down.

"If you're not the cat we're looking for, then who is?" the dark tabby spat.

"You must be looking for...for Grayfrost..." the cat choked on his own blood. "He retired a few moons ago..."

Silverheart opened her eyes, feeling a burning rage deep within her soul as tears leaked down her face. This cat...the cat called Grayfrost...he was the one who killed her mother. Now she did not just want to kill him; she wanted to kill him so hard that he would not even reach the Dark Forest. Beside her, Brokenstar was stalking beside her, his pawsteps matching hers.

_Are you ready, Silverheart? _the former ShadowClan leader hissed into her ear. _Are you ready for vengeance to come?_

_Yes, master, _she thought back. _I want to feel his blood on my claws._

At this, she broke into a run as she dashed out of the room, Bearclaw following her. The last thing she heard was the dying cat letting out one more horrified gasp before laying his head down on the ground, dead.

**...**

Grayfrost crouched low to the ground when he spotted a pigeon pecking on the dirt. He let out a growl and leapt at it, but the bird gave a squawk of alarm and flew up into the air. Giving a low mutter, the gray tom turned back to his garden...which he loved very much.

He was living in a house in a valley after he had retired from the Southern Outlaws. Unhappily, Grayfrost's retirement did not go well; he had to live with his mother, who seemed to hate him very much and showed complete contempt towards him. But one thing that cheered him up was his beloved garden, which grew plenty of vegetables.

"Grayfrost, you lazy ass!" That was his mother from the house. "I need something!"

"Yes, Mother, what is it?" Grayfrost called back. Despite not wanting to live under her claw anymore, he still had to try and act civil or else.

His mother, who was a very ugly and hairless black cat, growled, "The carrot from your garden are too hard for my gums and false teeth. I need something soft and juicy."

Grayfrost meowed, "Would you like something else from the garden? I would be happy to-"

"Forget your stupid garden!" she screeched. "Get your grubby little tail to hunting and catch some REAL food! A pigeon!"

_I already tried to catch one, _Grayfrost wanted to argue. But with the scornful glare his mother gave him, he had to slink away and try to catch a bird.

He had arrived at the town square, where there were plenty of pigeons eating scraps of bread on the ground. Thankfully, his hunt went well, for he managed to catch an odd limping bird and killed it with one bite to the neck. Just then, the wind chime in the window of the nearest house moves, so he turned towards the house.

"Hello?" Grayfrost called.

No one answered. So Grayfrost turned to the nearest shopkeeper and asked, "Did you see someone there?"

The owner shook his head, so Grayfrost picked up his catch and padded over to the steps out of town. As he made his way down the steps, his yellow eyes shifted from side to side, trying to catch some suspicious activity. At one point, he called, "Hello? Is someone there?", but no one answered him. So he once again picked up the pigeon and continued down the path.

Little did he know that he was being watched.

**(Author's Note: Okay, here's the climax of the episode. So we're switching POVs now.)**

Silverheart and Bearclaw peered out at the gray tom from behind the bushes. The former was shaking with rage, recognizing the dark-flecked gray pelt and the hawk-like yellow eyes. This was her mother's killer...the evil fox-heart Brokenstar and Bearclaw were going to help her destroy...to gain revenge for Seamist.

"That was him," Silverheart snarled, her heart filling with hate. "That was the monster."

Rain began to fall from the graying sky, and the ground was getting soaked with puddles and mud. Grayfrost was keeping his head down before he turned around swiftly and walked on a bit more quickly. Silverheart and Bearclaw followed his pawsteps, causing him to drop his pigeon the third time and turn around.

"Nobody sneaks up on me without being burned," he warned, flicking his fire-laced tail at a bush next to Silverheart. Once she got out of the way of the burning bush, she turned back to see the coward picking up his pigeon, trying to keep the feathers dry.

_And...NOW!_

Beside her, Bearclaw set up a wire quickly on the ground, a trap that would trip an animal and cause them to be vulnerable. As Grayfrost got nearer, the plan worked: his forelegs tripped over the wire, and he let out a yowl as he fell into a puddle, the pigeon flying out of his mouth. Then Bearclaw leapt forth and pinned the pigeon down, scraping its back before pouncing towards him, giving Silverheart the right time to analyze his weak points.

"We weren't behind the bush, you know," Bearclaw growled, stepping forth. "And I wouldn't try FireBending again if I were you."

To Silverheart's disgust, instead of fighting back, Grayfrost lowered himself down onto his belly. "Whoever you are, take my money!" he whimpered like a little kit. "Take whatever you want! I'll cooperate! I promise!"

Now was the time. Silverheart stepped forth, Brokenstar's ghost forming with her until she saw her eyes glowing yellow in a puddle beneath her. When she got to Grayfrost, he was cowering so much that he looked like a kit trapped in an elder's body.

"Do you know who I am?" she hissed dangerously.

"N-No," Grayfrost rasped. "I-I-I'm not sure."

Silverheart hissed, "Oh you better remember me like your life depends on it! I have an idea. Why don't you take a closer look?" She pinned his shoulder down and, as he didn't look up at her, she screamed into his ear, "LOOK AT ME!"

It was a few seconds before he looked up at her, his eyes full of recognition. "Oh, I remember you. You're the little silver WaterClan kit...except you have stripes now..." This made Silverheart gasp and step back as the FireClan elder began his tale.

"I had cornered one of the queens in the nursery, a silver tabby-&-white she-cat with blue eyes. I had attacked her and needed answers from her, but she was being defiant. I was just ready to lay another blow when a kit came in...you. Noticing you there, y-your mother told me, 'Let her go, and I'll tell you what you want.'

"I had just noticed you there, but this was not for kits to hear. So I pushed you away from us and snapped, 'You heard your mother, you little scrap of fur! Now get out of here!'

"You just stood there, whimpering 'Mama...I'm scared...

"'Go find your father, sweetie,' the queen rasped. 'Don't worry. I'll handle this.'

"Then you turned around and fled back to fetch your father, the leader of your Clan. When you were gone, I turned back to your mother and hissed, 'Now tell me, fish-face. Who is it? Who's the last WaterBender?'

"'She glared up at me with a frown. 'There are no WaterBenders here. FireClan took them all away a long time ago.'

"'I know you're lying,' I hissed as I stalked over towards her. 'The sources say that there's one WaterBender left in the camp of the Southern WaterClan. So we're not leaving until we find the WaterBender and kill her.'"

Silverheart felt her heart almost stop. So that was why FireClan attacked her home: they were trying to find her and kill her, the last southern WaterBender.

"'If I tell you, do you promise...' The Queen lowered her head as if to think this through before lifting her head back up. '...do you promise to leave the rest of the camp alone?'

"I nodded. So she rasped, 'I-It's me. I'm the last WaterBender in the southern WaterClan. Please. Just take me as your prisoner...and leave my Clan alone...'

"'All right. We'll leave your Clan be,' I told her. Then I smiled evilly as I added, 'But I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today. We have orders.'

"And that's when...that's when I did it. I made fire surround my claws and sliced them across her throat, cutting the jugular in two and spraying blood everywhere. When I saw you and your family coming and my Clanmates leaving, I left the body and sprinted after them." Grayfrost paused to breath before choking, "I-I didn't know you would be upset..."

This was enough for Silverheart. She closed her eyes sadly and turned away, rasping, "She lied to you. She was protecting the last WaterBender of my Clan."

Grayfrost blinked in surprise. "What? Who...who was it?"

"It...was..._ME_!" Silverheart roared, opening her eyes and glaring in pure hatred down at him. "I am Silverheart, warrior of the Southern WaterClan, and you killed my mother! _Prepare to DIE_!"

Inside her mind, Brokenstar was yowling, _Very good job, Silverheart! Kill him! Make mouse meat out of him! Feel his blood on your paws!_

At this, she raised her tail, andrain drops got suspended in the air immediately. Grayfrost was shivering hard while Bearclaw stared up at the suspended drops forming into a dome. She rose to her hind paws while moving her front ones around, the water getting Bended in a huge blob. The hate in her heart growing, she let out a screech of rage as she directed the water towards the cowardly tomcat, turning them into ice spikes.

She let them stay in the air for a bit while she lashed out her claws and sliced them at his face, feeling the gush of blood onto her paws. Grayfrost cowered while Silverheart sneered at his shriveling form, controlling the icicles again and preparing for it to end.

_NO! Remember what Goldwing said?_ An old croaky voice had appeared in her mind, making her appear in a land of mist. _Let your anger out and then let it go._

_Shut up, you old badger! _Brokenstar's voice had snapped at the owner of the voice, a dark gray she-cat with orange eyes, a scarred face, and a flat muzzle._ Don't listen to her, Silverheart. Spiders had spun webs in that old Yellowfang's head; she's nothing but an old pelt of fleas!_

But Yellowfang rasped, _This is an intervention, son, and you weren't invited! _To Silverheart, she went on, her croaky voice full of emotion, _Silverheart, I know that you hate him a lot, and that's justified. But you can _try_ to forgive him in your heart. Your mother would want that._

_She would? _Silverheart asked.

_Does a medicine cat lie? _Yellowfang purred, winking before disappearing in a swirl of stars.

So she pulled back to the real world and forced the ice spikes pause inches in front of him, a few puncturing the ground beside him. Silverheart made them into water again, trying to figure out what Yellowfang was trying to tell her.

"I-I did a bad thing. I know I did, and you deserve revenge," Grayfrost mewled. "H-How about you take my Mother? That would be fair, right? We'd be equal!"

Hearing this, Silverheart stared down at him pityingly. This cat must be so low to sell his own mother as revenge bait. So she hissed with the voice of the coldest ice, "I always wonder what kind of cat could do such a thing...what kind of warrior would put his life above his Clanmate's. But now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you, nothing at all. You're nothing but pathetic, sad, and empty."

Grayfrost didn't try to defend himself. Instead, he whined, "Please...please spare me..."

"But as much as I hate you..." Her eyes shimmered with tears of emotion as she recalled the words of Goldwing and Yellowfang. "...I-I just can't do it." She turned away, closing her eyes and trying to control her feeling. "Good-bye, you cowardly slimy bastard. May StarClan judge you on what you've done."

Grayfrost looked up weakly and hopefully at her while Bearclaw padded up to her side. Her old rage at the dark tabby gone, Silverheart padded away before kicking the caught pigeon back at the sobbing gray tom.

_I've done it..._ Silverheart thought as she stalked away, his blood on her paws. _But I couldn't do it...and won't. _She felt herself slowly recover from her rage, but not killing a cat she had just started to hate...it felt better than bloodshed.

_WHAT?! _That was Brokenstar's voice roaring with rage._ You have let a murderer run free and refused to kill him! The Dark Forest would have made you a perfect warrior in its ranks!_

Silverheart snapped back, _So that was it? You made me insanely angry just to make me join your evil ranks? No...I won't! Go back to the Dark Forest where you belong! You are no longer my "mentor", and I am no longer your apprentice!_

And after he left...she felt the evilness inside her heart wash away like warm water.

**...**

Bearclaw led Goldwing over to the port where Silverheart was staring down into the water at the fish, her forepaws creating splashes now and again. Archie had brought everyone to the house at Black Sand Island, where Darkstar once had the family stay at for one greenleaf, and they were starting to fit in well there. But Bearclaw wanted to make sure Silverheart was all right after her encounter with Grayfrost.

"Silverheart! Are you okay?" Goldwing asked once they got to her.

"Yes...I'm fine," the silver tabby she-cat rasped, not turning away from the sunset.

Goldwing padded over to her and sat next to her. "Bearclaw told me what you did. Or...what you didn't do, I guess. But the point is, I'm really proud of you," he added, laying a gentle paw on her scratched shoulder.

Silverheart closed her blue eyes sadly. "I wanted to do it. I wanted to take out all my anger at him, but...I couldn't. I don't know if it's because I'm too weak to do it or if it's because I'm strong enough not to. I guess it's what Seamist would have wanted."

"You did the right thing," Goldwing reassured her. "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing the emotional wounds in your soul."

"But I didn't forgive him. I never will," Silverheart rasped, her face angry as she stood back up. "Yellowfang appeared in a vision and said I can forgive him to be rid of him, but I won't." Then her face softened into a small smile as she looked at the other tom. "But Bearclaw...I'm ready to forgive _you_."

To Bearclaw's surprise, she padded forth and gave him a warm embrace. Bearclaw purred in reply and returned it, happy that the anger they had in the past was now forgotten. She had finally forgiven him and was ready to move on with their lives.

They parted as she laid her tail on Bearclaw's broad shoulder in a gesture of gratitude and padded away. Bearclaw turned to see her padding off over to Ashfeather, who was waiting for his sister back at Archie. He had felt a bit guilty for sounding ungrateful of Goldwing's advice, but that now helped him learn more about life.

"You were right about what she needed," he told the golden tom. "Violence wasn't the answer."

"It never is," Goldwing replied. "It might have been in the ancient Clans, but it's never been the real answer."

Bearclaw nodded. "Then if you don't mind, I have a question for you: what will you do when you face against my father?"

But at that, Goldwing looked very stunned at the question and looked to the side, unsure and confused. The FireClan warrior knew that the Avatar Cat's lessons had worked this time, but what if he had to fight and perhaps kill Darkstar? Would he have to give up all he had learned as an apprentice to keep the Clans safe?

Only time could tell.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Katara: I'm SO happy this chapter's over. I DID want to kill him, but I couldn't. And I'm now glad I didn't. So...did you add Yellowfang into the chapter?**

**AvatarCat12: Yep. I know she was a popular cat in the original Warriors series, and I wanted her to help your cat form out.**

**Katara: (Smiles and kisses his cheek) Thanks, Avatar Cat. That's very sweet of you. May I say the review thing and the preview for The Black Sand Island Players?**

**AvatarCat12: You've been a really great help since day 1 of Avatar Cat, and this is your chapter. So by all means, go ahead.**

**Katara: Thanks. (To the readers) Those of you who read and review this chapter will get a virtual figurine of Yellowfang herself, since she's one of my favorite warrior cats. Flames will not be allowed, but we allow advice and constructive criticism.**

**Preview: Now that they're at Darkstar's old greenleaf home, AvatarClan has heard of a play that stars them in their own adventures. Will they be happy at what they see, or will they be reviled by the play? And what parts of their journey create drama amongst the heroes of AvatarClan?**

**Both: See ya next time! And Happy early Thanksgiving!**


	17. The Black-Sand Island Players

**AvatarCat12: Well, here we are at the fifty-seventh episode of Avatar Cat. This time, both Aang and Katara are joining us again for this chapter.**

**Aang: (Comes into the office) Good to see you again, Avatar Cat! But why'd we have to see this episode?**

**Katara: It's important for us to see these episodes until the end. (Aang nods) Anyways, who should say the disclaimer this time?**

**AvatarCat12: I'll say it to get you guys prepared.**

**Disclaimer: The Nickelodeon company owns Avatar: The Last AirBender, and Erin Hunter owns Warrior Cats. I also got the writing from the AvatarSpirit website, which I do NOT own; that, and I've tried my best to make it like a Warrior Cats writing style.**

**Summary: ****Now that they're at Darkstar's old greenleaf home, AvatarClan has heard of a play that stars them in their own adventures. Will they be happy at what they see, or will they be reviled by the play of Black-Sand Island? And what parts of their journey create drama amongst the heroes of AvatarClan?**

**Uploading Date: November 27, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Black-Sand Island Players_

It was another scenic day at Darkstar's beach house with the rocks and hills around it on Black Sand Island. Goldwing knew that soon, they would have to try and battle Darkstar, but for now, he could relax and practice FireBending with Bearclaw. So that morning, they were out in the courtyard, drilling their moves on their hind legs.

The toms started FireBending towards a decrepit fountain and took a step back after that. In sync, they took a step forth and swiped their forepaws in the air, FireBending at the same time. They stretched out their right hind leg in front of them, FireBending again. Then they proceeded to stretch it behind them and push out their left paws out as they FireBended with that paw. They got down to all four paws and exhaled audibly, panting and bowing to each other.

Silverheart and Nightfoot had been watching at the side in their FireClan disguises, the former in her white tabby pelt and the latter pale gray. Bearclaw let out a lion-like yawn as he stretched his legs out while Goldwing rolled around, relieving himself of the stress.

"Isn't it weird that we're hiding from Darkstar in his own house?" Silverheart asked, looking around as Nightfoot napped on. She seemed to completely recover from the ordeal of almost killing Grayfrost, her mother's killer.

"I told you, my father hasn't come here since our family was actually happy," Bearclaw replied, sitting at the edge of the fountain and lapping up some water. "And that was moons ago. This is the last place anyone would think to look for us."

Goldwing nodded in agreement before lapping up some water too.

"Guys!" Ashfeather's yowl made Nightfoot wake up and snort "Huh? What the hell?" Ignoring that, the black tom (now in his FireClan disguise) purred, "You guys aren't gonna believe this. There's a play about us!"

"We were just in town and found this poster," Echo added, her green eyes bright. Like the others, she had made a disguise for herself, a calico-&-white pelt with one side of her face black and the other orange.

At that, he brought out a poster, making Goldwing step forth and feel excited. FireClan had actually made a play about them despite hating their guts and souls? This play was really something worth seeing.

"What?" Silverheart asked in confusion. "How is that possible?"

Ashfeather flipped the poster to the back, meowing, "Listen to this: 'The Cat In The White Stone is a new production from commended playwright Poona Kim who scoured the globe gathering information on the Avatar Cat from the icy glaciers of the South Pole to the rock-strewn heart of BoulderClan. His sources included singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly familiar merchant of lettuce."

"Brought to you by the famous Black-Sand Island Players," Echo read the last part as her mate let go of the scroll's bottom and let it curl back.

Bearclaw had a disgusted look on his face as he growled, "Ugh...my mother Bearheart used to take us to see these plays. They massacred 'The Wolf Of Eagle Lake' every year."

**(Author's Note: This is the name of a dog version of The Witch Of Blackbird Pond I was planning on making.)**

Silverheart did not look convinced as she asked, "Do you think it's a good idea for us to go to a play about ourselves?"

"Come on, a day at the theater?" Ashfeather purred to his sister, grinning widely. "This is the kind of silly time-wasting bullshit I've been missing!"

_Well, let's hope that this "silly time-wasting bullshit" is good stuff, _Goldwing thought.

**...**

So that night, they all went to the theater to see this play everyone was talking about. To make sure no one suspected the, AvatarClan went into a private viewing box on the second floor facing the stage. Nightfoot and Silverheart took their seats while Bearclaw (who now had a ginger-&-white pelt) went in the opposite direction. Goldwing (who now wore a black cape over his body) could feel that this was going to be a good time, apart from the time when they played hide-and-seek after all the drama.

But just as he confidently tried to sit next to her, Bearclaw sat in between them. The golden tom stopped and felt disappointment in his heart; he had wanted to sit beside his crush this night.

"Hey, uh...I wanted to sit there," he mewed, pointing his paw to the spot.

"Just sit next to me, Goldwing," Bearclaw retorted. "What is it with you?"

Silverheart looked back at their chat before turning back. Goldwing muttered, "I was just...I wanted to...fine," he sighed, sitting next to the FireClan cat. He wanted to sit with Silverheart so badly, but he did not want to argue with Bearclaw.

Nightfoot was sitting on Silverheart's other side while Ashfeather and Echo sat in the row behind the four others. But then Nightfoot began griping, "Why the hell are we all the way here in the loser section? My pads can't see a thing from up here!"

"Don't worry, Nightfoot. I'll tell your pads what happens," Silverheart told her past apprentice as the lights in the theater dimmed down.

_Here it comes! _Goldwing thought excitedly, his tail lashing around.

Finally, the curtain was drawn up to reveal a prop of a makeshift fox stalking around. The backdrop was a crude painting of icebergs to represent the southern WaterClan. The shadows of the Silverheart and Ashfeather actors were moving quietly on the stage. Silverheart shared a very excited look with Ashfeather, who smiled back and laid a gentle paw on her shoulder...before their jaws dropped. And you all know what I'm talking about.

Silverheart's actress was a heavier-looking cat than the real and more slender Silverheart; the former fur color was correct, but this cat looked a bit fat. Ashfeather's actor was a skinny and bucktoothed tom who looked more like a scrawny woodchuck. With some spots added to the actual pelt color.

"Ashpaw, my brother..." Actress Silverheart sighed. "We constantly roam these icy South Pole waters, and yet never do we find anything fulfilling."

"All I want is food in my belly!" Actor Ashfeather whined. "I'm starving!"

The audience near the stage laughed heartily. But the WaterClan siblings (the actual ones) had looks of revulsion and shock on their faces, and Goldwing agreed with them. When he had first met them, they were hunting. Plus, the real Silverheart was slimmer, more beautiful, and had a lovely soft voice. And the real Ashfeather looked sturdier than his actor and did not have any buckteeth at all; that, and his voice was a bit deeper.

Actress Silverheart asked with the same sigh, "Is food the only thing on your mind?"

Actor Ashfeather meowed, "Well, I'm trying to get it out of my mind and into my mouth. I'm starving like a rock!"

"What in the name of StarClan is this!" the real Ashfeather hissed in disgust as the audience laughed. "_My_ jokes are way funnier!"

"I think he's got you tracked, Sleepy," Nightfoot purred, making them stare at her.

Back at the stage, Actress Silverheart moaned, "Everyday, the world awaits for a guiding light to guide us through, yet none appears. Still, we cannot give up hope. For hope is..." Her voice began to "crack" as she sniffled. "...hope is all we have, and we must not forsake it. Even...even when we die!"

At that, she let out a loud and very irritating wail, making Goldwing want to cover his ears.

"This is stupid," the real Silverheart growled while Ashfeather and Echo snickered behind her. "I don't sound like that."

Nightfoot was rolling on the ground, laughing. "Great StarClan, this writer's a genius!"

Just then, white-blue light illuminated behind the actors. Goldwing looked up quickly and kneaded his seat with his forepaws. This was it. He was going to see his actor self appear from the White Stone. He could not believe it had been nine moons since he had been revived. The White Stone prop slowly moves to the center of the stage as a silhouette of Goldwing swayed from side to side on a stick inside the object.

"It appears to be a cat frozen in ice!" Actress Silverheart gasped, looking up in a "graceful" way. "Perhaps for fourteen years!"

"But who?" Actor Ashfeather asked in fake surprise. "Who is the cat in the white stone?"

Goldwing sat on the edge of the seat, eager to see his own self on stage. Beside him, Bearclaw let out a large yawn to show how bored he was.

Actress Silverheart had already climbed on top of the prop while the other actor was climbing up. "WaterBend, ha-ya!" she cried, making a chopping motion with her paw while the silhouette was pulled down.

Cracks appeared on the white stone, and it opened with the interior smoking. The actors looked up at it and at each other in mock surprise. But something made Goldwing go from excited...to very confused. A cat with the same painted pelt as Goldwing leapt out of the prop, winked at the audience, and posed.

"Who are you, cat in the ice?" Actress Silverheart asked.

The cat giggled and balanced on one forepaw. "I'm the Avatar Cat, silly!" it mewed, its voice too high. "I'm here to spread fun and joy to the world!"

Goldwing's jaw dropped, rasping, "Wait...I'm played as a she-cat?!"

Just then, a shaggy white toy snake popped out from the remnants of the iceberg and moved from side to side, jumping off the iceberg. Goldwing saw that this was a cruel mockery of his beloved animal guide. Then the "Archie-snake" circled round the iceberg and made a gruff animal noise like a sick cow or injured horse.

Actress Silverheart bowed down at Actress Goldwing's paws and gasped, "An AirBender! My heart is so full of hope and joy that it's making me TearBend!"

As she "sobbed", Actor Ashfeather did the same, crying, "My belly is so empty that it's making ME TearBend too! I NEED FISH!" he finally wailed.

"But wait," Actress Goldwing meowed as she flicked her tail up to the ceiling. "Is that a platter of delicious roast fish?"

The real Goldwing lowered his head even more, growling under his breath. FireClan had totally mocked an almost-extinct Clan's tradition by putting in things AirClan cats hated.

"Oooh!" Actor Ashfeather squealed as he looked around. "Where? Where?"

Actress Goldwing giggled. "Did I mention that I'm an incorrigible prankster?"

"WHAT?!" the real Goldwing snarled, feeling more embarrassment at the laughter. "I'm not like that! And...I'm not a she-cat!"

"Oh, they nailed you GOOD, Twinkletoes!" Nightfoot laughed out loud, rolling around.

Goldwing leaned back against the back of his seat with a growl. Ashfeather was wrong; this kind of stuff was not a fun way to enjoy at all. But he stopped as a cardboard model of Bearclaw's old ship came around, Actor Bearclaw poised near the front of the ship and looking through a telescope.

"Bearclaw, my nephew, you must try these cookies!" Actor Irontail, who looked a bit like the real one except for the orange tabby pelt, exclaimed. He held up a plate with only one cookie there; the others must have been taken away.

**(Author's Note: That's a shout-out to Garfield, folks.)**

The real Bearclaw muttered something that sounded like "My uncle likes cream, not cookies" under his breath. Then he saw something that made him growl even worse, and Goldwing saw why: the actor was wearing the burn scar on the wrong side.

"I don't have time to stuff my face," Actor Bearclaw snapped, his voice rougher and deeper than the real Bearclaw's. He lowered the telescope and faced the audience, calling, "I must capture the Avatar Cat and regain my honor!"

Actor Irontail chuckled. "Very well then. I'll capture the last cookie then!"

At that, he began to chow down on the cookie, making loud munching noises. Actor Bearclaw muttered "You disgust me" and turned back to look through the telescope again.

"Load of fox-dung!" the real Bearclaw growled to Silverheart. "All of it! They make me totally aloof and unwitty in this play."

Silverheart purred, an amused look on her face. "Actually, I think that actor's damn right."

"How could you say that?!" he hissed at her.

They turned back to the play as Actor Irontail meowed, "Now let's forget about the Avatar Cat for now and get pedicures!"

"How could you say that?!" Actor Bearclaw hissed at him.

Silverheart wore a satisfied smirk on her face and looked over to an expressionless and real Bearclaw. The former FireClan cat groaned in reply and hid his face behind his paws.

The play went on, taking place at the backdrop of the Southern AirClan camp, at which part Goldwing held back a croak. This was the place where he found out that FireClan had killed his entire Clan. But there was no doubt this part was going to be made fun of too.

Actress Goldwing looked around as red tail feathers stuck out from a nearby bush prop. She spotted the tail, which zipped into the bush, and cried, "Hey look! I think I found something!" As the WaterClan actors looked at each other, Actress Goldwing now stepped away...with a parrot with red feathers instead of a hawk on her shoulder. "Aww! It's a red parrot! I think I'll name him Tobi!" she giggled.

"Hi, everybody!" the parrot squawked. "I love you!"

The audience laughed, but Goldwing felt his claws sink into his seat. Tobi wasn't a parrot; he was a proud-blooded red-tailed hawk, a true predator. Plus, he didn't talk! Instead of yowling about it, though, he hung his head and started muttering curses to the play.

He looked up in time as Actress Echo appeared for the Heavyrose Island scene. Like the other actors, this one had the right fur color...but the wrong figure. In fact, this cat had a flat face like Irontail did.

"Does this make my butt look fat?" Actor Ashfeather asked in his outfit, coming into view and wiggling his tail around.

At this, Echo struggled to contain her laughter and looked over at Ashfeather, who blushed and dipped his head down. Next, there was a backdrop of BoulderClan as the actor of Rockstar (the latter who was Goldwing's oldest friend) popped up. Goldwing had a feeling that this was not going to go well at all.

"Riddles and trials must you face, if you are ever to leave this place!" Actor Rockstar cackled as he watched the scenery.

Actress Goldwing was avoiding a big gray swinging rock, and Actress Silverheart was walled by props of green genemite crystals. Actor Ashfeather ran across the stage, being chased by a cat wearing a white gorilla suit. Actor Rockstar laughed riotously while Actress Silverheart sighed theatrically and disappeared behind the prop crystals as one part of the prop rose high, hiding her from the audience.

The real Silverheart merely blew a small raspberry at that scene.

Now back at the stage, there was a pirate ship in the backdrop. The leading characters stood at the center of the stage as three pirates armed with prop weapons appeared on stage; Goldwing recognized the black-&-white tom as the Australian accented pirate who had tried to attack his friends. At that, three other pirate cats came from the other side of the stage. Actress Silverheart held a-too large book prop in her jaws while Actor Ashfeather held a blunt boomerang prop.

All three of them crouched down as the pirate cats ambushed them. Then they slid out from underneath the black-&-white barker as the six pirates fought and slowly moved offstage.

"Why did you have to steal that WaterBending book?" Actor Ashfeather asked.

"It just gave me so much hope!" Actress Silverheart sobbed, wailing her head off.

The real Silverheart had a look on her face as if to say "What is this crap?!" at this. The cats watched on as the stage changed to show Actress Goldwing being tied to a raised platform with FireClan guards at the bottom.

"The Avatar Cat is mine!" Actor Bearclaw gloated. He suddenly looked up and hissed, "Wait, who's coming?"

A spotlight shone on an actor, wearing a big tiki Red Demon mask that covered his body. "It is I!" the actor cried. "The Red Demon! The bane of FireClan here to save the Avatar Cat!"

Beside the real Goldwing, the real Bearclaw let out a small groan.

The Red Demon's actor waved his sword about in his jaws, making quick moves. The warriors behind him fell to the ground, defeated, and Actor Bearclaw ran behind the platform. Actor Red Demon continued walking on and waved his sword about as the remaining guards dropped down. Actor Bearclaw appeared from the other side of the platform and threw a red streamer like FireBending at the Red Demon's paws, but the Red demon leapt up to avoid the streamer. The then the Red Demon threw out his sword as Actor Bearclaw fled.

"My hero," Actress Goldwing sighed dreamily, leaping off the platform and sitting on top of the tiki. At that, the Red Demon walked offstage.

Goldwing and Bearclaw shared a glance with each other, but they both knew the secret, and they were the only ones. When Goldwing was an apprentice, he had been captured by Thornflare, the former FireClan deputy, but Bearclaw had come as the same Red Demon to save him for his own benefit. But that was all in the past...though he didn't see the mask anymore.

Soon, the backdrop of the Freedom Fighter's hideout appeared as Actress Silverheart and Actor Flash (with a rose in his mouth and a huge afro on his head) were lowered onto the stage by on a platform. Goldwing sighed, knowing that soon, they would have to mock the demise of Flash, a cat who thought he did the right thing and died with a warrior's spirit. Then, to his irritation, Actress Silverheart began wailing loudly again.

"Don't cry, kitten," Actor Flash crooned, tilting Actress Silverheart's chin up to his face. "I will wipe out that nasty town for you!"

A stagehand clad in black began pulling a large blue sheet of cloth symbolizing water across the stage. The platform raised up, and the "town", wherever it was, got "destroyed".

"Oh Flash, you bad boy," Actress Silverheart purred seductively.

The real Silverheart let out a humiliated groan and looked away while Nightfoot laughed harder than ever. Goldwing made a growl about it, but he forced it down. Then it cut to a prop of Archie flying across the stage with the leading actors sitting in the saddle. Actress Goldwing sat on the saddle's side instead of prop Archie's head like what the real Goldwing would have done.

"Look!" she chirped, pointing down. "It's The Great Canyon! The biggest canyon in EarthClan!"

Actor Ashfeather looked to the side and muttered dismissively, "Eh...keep flying."

"That's what we would've done," the real Ashfeather grumbled.

Goldwing nodded, but he felt a bit guilty. If it weren't for him, Silverheart, and Ashfeather, the cats of the Kota and Feng tribes would never have become one.

He looked up to see a stagehand holding a sack of fake snow and ruffling it so that the fake snow fell out consistently. Then a bridge with a wave symbol appeared, as did Actor Ashfeather and Actress Moonfeather standing at the center of the bridge.

"Don't go, Moonfeather. You're the only cat who's ever taken my mind off of food," Actor Ashfeather lamented to the she-cat with a white polar bear pelt on her. Then, after they rubbed their muzzles together, he stepped back, asking, "Wait, did you have a seagull for dinner?"

"Goodbye," Actress Moonfeather meowed, rising by a hook on the polar bear pelt. "I have very important Moon duties to attend to." She was now sitting on a crescent moon prop as it slowly got pulled up. Then before she left, she added, "And yes, I did have a seagull for dinner."

Behind Goldwing, the real Ashfeather let out a big wail and blew his nose in a cloth, sobbing loudly. The Avatar Cat knew he was still never over losing his first mate in the northern WaterClan. Still, he had been able to move on with his life and found a new mate: Echo.

Ashfeather sniffled sadly, "That...was...so BEAUTIFUL!"

Echo purred, "Aww, you never told me you were mates with a StarClan cat!"

"Shh. I'm trying to watch," Ashfeather rasped, letting the tears run.

His mate rolled her eyes at that as a result.

Then cut outs of FireClan boats were being dragged across the stage. Actress Goldwing appeared on stage, wearing a large Ocean Spirit costume and standing on her hind legs, holding a figurine of Thornflare in one paw. Goldwing snorted silently; THIS should be good.

"The Avatar Cat returns to save the day!" Actress Goldwing squealed. "Hurray!"

She jumped out and crushed the cut out as she landed on all four paws. She proceeded to kick at another ship cut out offstage before going on. She stomped around and destroyed the remaining cut outs as she fell flat on her belly due to the weight of the costume. Goldwing turned away, for even though this was partially what happened, he did not do this on his own accord. The Ocean Spirit had asked him for his help.

At that, the curtain was lowered.

Nightfoot joined the rest of the audience as they began to applaud and cheer. Silverheart stared on, bewildered at the closing scene. Goldwing gave a loud groan and leapt down from his seat, wanting a small breath of fresh air. Bearclaw lowered his head, growling something to himself. And Ashfeather slapped a forepaw to his face, visibly displeased.

_This play SUCKS!_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"This intermission is the best part of the play so far."

Bearclaw had spoken this as all six cats went outside to a veranda looking out to the ocean. When the intermission came around (there were to be two of them), they went outside to discuss the play and breath the nightly greenleaf air. Everyone except Nightfoot had a problem about the play, though Echo was amused about her mate's actor.

Ashfeather stalked down the steps, ignoring Echo's amused look. "Apparently, the writer thinks I'm an idiot who tells bad jokes about meat all the time!"

And at that, he dug into a small bag, took out a piece of seal jerky, and chowed down.

"Yeah, you tell bad jokes about plenty of other topics," Echo purred, winking.

"I know!" Ashfeather retorted after swallowing, taking another bite.

Goldwing sat at the bottom of the steps with Nightfoot sitting in front of him. "At least your actor kinda looks like you. That she-cat playing as me doesn't resemble me AT ALL."

Nightfoot shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, you're more in touch with your feminine side than most toms!" she added with a laugh.

This made Goldwing growl and stand up to face her.

"Relax," Silverheart meowed, sitting on the step above Goldwing. "They're not exact portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who always gives weepy speeches about hope all the time." They all gave her weird looks, making her ask in a defensive voice, "...what?"

"Yeah," Goldwing sighed, sitting down. "That's not you at all."

"Listen, dudes," Nightfoot chuckled. "It's obvious that the writer showed his work. I know it hurts, but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth. The StarClan-damn truth!"

**...**

When the commission was over, the six cats of AvatarClan went back inside to see the second act of the play. Right now, the stage had a backdrop of the EarthClan and the actors of the three founders of AvatarClan.

"Well, here we are in EarthClan," Actress Silverheart meowed, sounding very obvious.

"I better have a look to see if I can find an EarthBending mentor!" Actress Goldwing replied, opening a mini glider prop in her forepaw. She was lifted up by a rope tied around her body.

"This is it!" Nightfoot meowed excitedly, kneading her forepaws together. "This must be where I come in!"

Bearclaw brought his paw to his face while Silverheart looked on nervously and Ashfeather appeared to be bored. Goldwing hated to find out what Nightfoot's actress was like.

Just then, Actress Goldwing came back to the stage and exclaimed, "I flew all over town but I couldn't find a single EarthBending mentor."

As the other actors looked horrified and sad, Nightfoot mewed, "Here it comes!"

Just then, a rock prop got lifted by a big black-furred jaguar who appeared from a door under the prop. "You can't find a mentor in the air!" the big cat, which was male, growled in a deep voice, throwing the rock prop over their heads. "You gotta look underground!"

Everyone in the theater (except for AvatarClan) laughed out loud at this. Bearclaw lifted his paw from his face to gape in shock at the jaguar standing on the stage. Goldwing's fur bristled in shock at this scene; the fur color was right, but this was totally the wrong species of cat. Besides being male, the jaguar's eyes were yellow instead of Nightfoot's pale green eye color.

"Who are you?" Actress Goldwing asked the big cat.

"My name is Nightfoot because it sounds tough," the jaguar replied, spitting off the stage and flexing his shoulders. "And that's just what I am."

"What. Is this," the real Nightfoot rasped, sounding shocked as her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "I sound like...a big tomcat. A really buff and big tomcat."

"Well, what you hear up there is the truth," Silverheart teased, appearing to try and make fun of her. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

But then... "Are you shitting me?" Nightfoot purred, her gray fur relaxing. "I love it! I wouldn't have cast it any other way! At least it's not a flying she-cat!"

The white tabby she-cat looked irritated that her former apprentice was not upset about her actor. But Goldwing glared at Nightfoot about the irritating comment she made about his actress. When the actors talked again, though, he got his mind off it and watched on.

Actress Goldwing waved a paw over Actor Nightfoot's huge face and asked, "So you're blind?"

The jaguar laughed. "Yep! I can see you doing that. I see everything you see except I don't _see_ like you do. I can release a sonic wave from my mouth with a burp or roar. Watch!"

He turned to the leading trio and let out a giant roaring belch. The trio on stage leaned back, and their pelts fluttered from the strong vibrations. The audience cringed and covered their ears, as did the cats of AvatarClan, who looked even more disgusted. But Nightfoot didn't cover her ears; instead, she continued to look on happily towards her actor.

"See that?" Actor Nightfoot purred, turning towards the trio as the audience uncovered their ears. "I got a good look at you."

The audience applauded as the actors left, and the stagehand tilted a spotlight up to two other actors. They were Actor Bearclaw and Actor Irontail standing on a bridge facing each other as the light cast huge shadows on the backdrop.

"It's time we had a talk...about your fur!" Actor Irontail cried, pointing at the grizzly bear pelt on the other's head. "It's grown too long, young cat!"

"Maybe it's best if we...split up," Actor Bearclaw meowed, turning away and leaving.

Then the next scene was from when Goldwing and his friends met Frostfire, the FireClan deputy, the second time. Just like what happened before, the six actors surrounded Actress Frostfire, who looked a bit like the real Frostfire except for being a longhair with green eyes.

Actor Bearclaw gasped. "It's my sister Frostfire! What are you doing here?"

"You caught me," Actress Frostfire sneered. Suddenly, she pointed to the ceiling above the audience and cried, "Wait! What's that? I think I see your honor!"

"Where?!" Actor Bearclaw asked. All six actors turned towards the audience while Actress Frostfire made her escape.

They all turned back to the empty corner, Actress Silverheart mewing, "She escaped. But how?"

Bearclaw's talons sank into the chair. Irontail had almost been killed by an attack Frostfire sent at him; she didn't distract him with honor.

The next part of the play was a drill prop drilling through a prop wall supported by the black clad stagehands. Actress Frostfire was standing on top of the drill while actress Goldwing stood on top of the wall. The real Goldwing could recall the battle he had with the real Frostfire on the drill moons ago.

"If she continues drilling into this wall, it will come down for sure!" she mewed as the wall beneath her shook and swayed unsteadily.

A black clad paw brought up a rock prop from behind Actress Goldwing, and she took it, throwing it towards Actress Frostfire.

"Ha ha, yes!" Actress Frostfire sneered, swiping the "rock" away with a paw. "Continue drilling. BoulderClan can't hide any longer!"

Smoke began to fill the stage, and the drill continued penetrating the wall. Actress Goldwing went on with throwing rocks provided by the stagehand, and one rock hit Actress Frostfire on the head, but she kicked it away. But the audience was either sleeping, yawning, or uninterested at the scene, and some of them were even struggling to stay awake. AvatarClan was among them, but despite his misgivings about his actress, Goldwing wanted to see this fight.

After this, the outcrop of a prison door in BoulderClan arrived. It had the sickly green spooky glow Goldwing recalled so well when they fought the former Clan deputy, Longfang.

Actor Flash came onto the stage, slashing his hooksword prop in his jaws as he did so. He was wearing a pair of crazy eyeglasses as the tiny black beads representing his pupils swirled around to show that he had gone insane. He twirled around on the spot, swinging his arms around as Actress Goldwing came onto the scene.

"Oh no!" she cried when she saw him. "What on earth did they do to you?"

"Must. Serve. Cavestar!" Actor Flash hissed, swiping a paw at her. He stood like a dizzy bear and swiped at a ducking Actor Ashfeather, snarling, "Crush...kill...destroy!"

Then a rock prop was dropped from above, and Actor Flash made various distressing noises that made Silverheart wretch a bit. Actor Flash swung around violently and grabbed his head as if he was having a seizure until the rock floated slowly onto the stage. The real Goldwing turned away a bit, knowing that it was Longfang, not a rock slide, which killed Flash.

Actor Flash crawled low on his belly to ensure that he was under the rock prop as it landed. The prop fell on him, covering the upper part of his body, but his legs and tail popped out from under the rock. So he brought his legs and tail into the prop until he was out of sight.

"Um...did Flash just die?" Bearclaw asked, his amber eyes wide.

"It was really unclear," Ashfeather replied.

Goldwing stared at the ginger-&-white FireClan cat. By the sound of his voice, it sounded as if he knew the former leader of the Freedom Fighters some time ago. Were they friends, or were they just rivals?

Just then, the next part of the play was up. Actress Silverheart was sitting on stage, a backdrop of the crystal tombs of BoulderClan behind her. Actor Bearclaw was sitting from across her, his tail wrapped around his forepaws.

"You know, Bearclaw, I really find you handsome," Actress Silverheart purred.

"You don't have to make fun of me," Actor Bearclaw grumbled.

Actress Silverheart insisted, "But I mean it, Bearclaw. I had eyes for you since the day you first captured me."

At this, the real Silverheart and Bearclaw looked at each other awkwardly, blushing before they slid away from each other. Goldwing looked over at the stage, hardly believing what he was just hearing. A small prickle of worry took root in his heart like a bad flower. Was Silverheart really in love with Bearclaw all this time?

Actor Bearclaw got to his paws. "Wait, I thought you were the Avatar Cat's mate."

Goldwing nodded. _That's right...if she and I ever become mates, that is._

"The Avatar Cat? Why, he's just like a little brother to me," Actress Silverheart giggled, padding over to Actor Bearclaw. "I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way. Besides, how could he ever find out about this?"

At that, they embraced.

But when he saw this, Goldwing felt his claws rip through the seat as he turned his sad eyes to Silverheart. So that was why she hadn't been his mate yet: she was Bearclaw's mate all along! How could she lie to him like this? He had loved her ever since he first met her, and this was how she repaid him? By sneaking behind his back and mating with Bearclaw?

_StarClan damn you! _he yowled inwardly. Sighing, he got up from his seat and padded away.

"Oh, you're getting up?" Ashfeather whispered. He turned to see the black tomcat wrap a foreleg around Echo's shoulder, making her glare at him. "Can you get me some fire flakes? Oh, and fire gummies while you're at it," he added, letting her go briefly before latching onto her again.

Echo, who had leaned against his shoulder, now gave him another glare. Goldwing sighed and left as quickly as he could; he did not want to see the rest of the second act of the play. His heart was too heavy about seeing that Silverheart and Bearclaw were mates. But the saddest part was...she seemed to not have feelings for him at all.

Meanwhile, Bearclaw looked over at where his actor stayed in the middle, Actress Silverheart leaving the stage. Actress Frostfire was on the left with a FireClan banner behind her, and actor Irontail was on the right with an EarthClan banner behind him. A spotlight shone on the first cat, making him be bathed in the light.

"Well, brother. What's it going to be?" Actress Frostfire asked while Actor Bearclaw looked around in conflict and confusion. "Your Clan or treason?"

"Choose treason. It's fun!" Actor Irontail purred, winking as he held a bowl in one paw.

Seeming to have made up his mind, Actor Bearclaw padded over to Actor Irontail, making Actress Frostfire gasp. But then, to Bearclaw's shame, Actor Bearclaw shoved Actor Irontail down. The latter dropped the bowl he was carrying and was now wriggling around on his back like an upturned turtle.

The real Bearclaw did not do this actually, but what he had told his uncle made him feel ashamed all over again. Another weakness had been exposed just now.

"I hate you, Uncle!" Actor Bearclaw spat, padding over to Actress Frostfire. "You're a skunk, and I hate you forever!"

Then the "siblings" padded offstage as the EarthClan banner fell on top of Actor Irontail.

This was why Bearclaw did not want to come to this play in the first place. He had a feeling they were going to choose his weaknesses and strike too close to him. His betrayal to Irontail...that was enough to make his groan and turn away.

"Bearclaw, did you really say that to your uncle?" Silverheart asked, looking at him in shock.

"I might as well have," Bearclaw sighed, looking at her grimly. He did not want to tell her about the betrayal he had done. Another thing: although he knew Silverheart was a caring, powerful, and attractive she-cat, he was not in love with her.

Just then, as smoke disappeared from the stage, Actress Rose appeared. Bearclaw saw that his mate's actor was mostly correct except for the white face and knives for claws. She took a knife from her paw and thrust it out while a black clad stagehand carried it across the stage to hit the back of an actor EarthClan warrior, He got pulled back by a wire to show that the impact of the knife threw him backwards.

Then there was a backdrop of the EarthClan leader's throne room. Cavestar and Yogi's costume appeared to be sewn together, and Cavestar's actor looked like a kit sitting on Yogi's lap. who was sitting on the throne. Another actor EarthClan warrior got into a fighting stance, facing against Actress Aya, who looked too fat to even be the real and slimmer Aya. Actress Aya leapt (heavily) onto the stage, licked her paw, and placed it on the actor's shoulder, making him freeze, stick his tongue out, and fall down. Actress Rose joined Actress Aya in the center of the stage in a finishing pose.

_This is a load of dung, _Bearclaw sighed heavily as the audience burst into applause. His mother had liked these kinds of plays, but he did not...and it showed.

Just then, Actress Goldwing appeared from behind the throne and leapt to the center of the stage. "Avatar Cat State!" she cried. "Yip yip!"

The lights on the stage dimmed, and her arrow glowed in the dark. She closed her eyes, and her eye makeup glowed to look like the real Goldwing's stripes and eyes glow in the Avatar Cat State. A black clad stagehand secured a rope behind her, and she got lifted into the air. Bearclaw had to admit that it looked similar to what he had seen on that terrible day.

Sadly, Actress Frostfire leapt out from the smoke and into the air, her claws glowing in the dark as she held cloth in her jaws. "Not if my lightning can't help it!" she shrieked.

Actress Goldwing opened her eyes slightly to catch the blue cloth, and the cloth wobbled and shook as she pretended to go into spasms. Below, Actress Frostfire was shaking the clothing in her teeth as she the former lowered to the stage. Actress Goldwing let go of the cloth as the rope lowered her to the floor, and the audience looked on, bewildered.

When her hunched body reached the floor, the three actresses on stage jumped in front of Actress Goldwing's body in a final pose. Bearclaw sighed when he saw this.

"The Avatar Cat is dead!" Actress Frostfire crowed. "FireClan reigns supreme!"

At this cry, the entire audience (except for AvatarClan started cheering. Ashfeather looked very offended, Nightfoot leaned back against her seat, Silverheart looked away, and Bearclaw looked down to his paws, not wanting to be reminded of that day. This play was not just making them look ridiculous; this play was also targeting their weaknesses.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Once the second act of the play was over, many cats began standing around, talking about what went on in the play. The five members of AvatarClan were sitting around away from the others, not wanting to talk. But one thing bothered Silverheart other than the play and making her be in love with Bearclaw.

Goldwing had not come back even after that part. It made her worry for the Avatar Cat, for she felt like she was slowly falling for him. But most importantly, she wanted to know if he was going to be okay. After getting some water to drink, she padded up to the second floor where the others were sitting at.

"It looks like when there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out with your hides," Echo was meowing frankly. But she smirked as she added, "No offense, but...you seem to lose a lot."

"Bit rich coming from you," Ashfeather retorted, pointing a paw at her. "Didn't Frostfire already take you captive? Oh, that's right...she did!"

Echo frowned at her mate irately. "Are you really trying to piss me off?"

Ashfeather shrugged. "I'm just saying, that's all."

"Does anyone know where Goldwing went to?" Silverheart asked, stepping forth.

"He left to get me some FireClan snacks minutes ago," Ashfeather replied, flopping down on his belly. "And I'm _still_ waiting."

Silverheart rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Ashfeather. I'll check outside."

So she padded away, deciding to check around the balconies. And so far, she hadn't seen him around there...yet. But when she made it to the last balcony, Silverheart found him.

Goldwing was sitting on the railing and looking out at the sea. A closer look told Silverheart that he was staring up at the stars. But when she had opened the door so that the light from inside lit his back, he did not turn around to face her. Silverheart let out a small sigh, knowing that this was not going to be a good conversation.

"Are you alright?" the pretty white tabby asked as she got closer.

"No...no, I'm not alright," Goldwing hissed, swiping his claws at the rail he was sitting on. "I hate this play! Why did StarClan let them do it?"

Silverheart sighed, knowing that he didn't mean that. She leapt onto the railing next to him and meowed, "Goldwing, StarClan doesn't control our lives. They guide us and watch over us, but we live our lives for us. But anyways, I know it's offensive, but...I think you're overreacting."

Goldwing glared at her, a look Silverheart had never seen him use at her before. "Overreacting?!" he snarled. "Well, if I hadn't blocked my chakra, I'd probably be in the Avatar Cat State right now, now would I?!"

But upon saying this, the golden tom laid on the railing, turning away from her to look at the sea. Silverheart knew that he still blamed himself for not mastering the final chakra, and she did not ask him what that was about. However, he had been blaming himself for this for too long, and she wondered how she could get her best friend out of his anger.

**...**

Meanwhile, back inside the theater, Ashfeather and Echo looked over at a little ginger kit with a mask of Goldwing running around the area. Ashfeather wondered how his actor could be funny without some good jokes to tell. If only there was a way to get backstage and offer his actor some funny and REAL jokes.

"Hey Echo?" His tortoiseshell mate turned to face him. "What are the chances of you getting me backstage so I can give Actor Me some good jokes."

Echo now glared at him in a serious and no-nonsense attitude. "I am an elite island guard who's trained for many moons in the art of stealth and cunning. Not even snakes or crows are as stealthy as an island guard."

Ashfeather cringed at this stealthy serious attitude until...

"Sure! I think I can get you backstage!" Echo purred, looking cheerful again.

Meanwhile, Bearclaw and Nightfoot were resting not too far away from them. Bearclaw watched as Ashfeather and Echo padded away rather quickly, talking about jokes or some other third thing. But...he was upset about how this play turned out...and how he had betrayed his uncle a few moons ago.

"Everyone's getting so damn upset about their actors," Nightfoot meowed as she leaned against a pillar. "Even you seem more unhappy than usual, and that's saying something."

Bearclaw rested his head on his forepaws. "You just don't get it. It's different for you. I mean, you get a huge jaguar, a big cat that can kill twenty bad guys at once and make sassy remarks."

Nightfoot snorted. "Yeah, that's pretty great, huh?"

"But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face," Bearclaw told her. Memories flooded his heart as he rasped, "My Uncle Irontail, for example. He was my mentor and was always been on my side even when things were bad. He was always there for me, taught me so much...and how do I repay him? I repaid him...with a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret..." He lowered his head and looked away in shame. "...and I may never get to redeem myself to him."

_Uncle..._ he thought silently, feeling a tear in his good eye. _I'm so sorry..._

"You HAVE redeemed yourself to your uncle," Nightfoot meowed suddenly, sitting down. "You don't realize it, but you already have."

Bearclaw looked up at the rough gray she-cat. "What? How do you know?"

Nightfoot smiled at him. "Because I once had a long conversation with the guy when I ran away as an apprentice. And all he talked about was you."

"Really?" It was good of an AvatarClan cat to meet his uncle, who was so filled with wisdom and good advice. Bearclaw felt a small smile come across his face, happy to hear Nightfoot talk about Irontail in a good way.

"Yeah...and it was kinda annoying," the EarthClan warrior mewed.

Bearclaw chuckled nervously. "Oh, sorry. He can talk for quite a while."

Nightfoot shrugged. "It's fine...but it was also very sweet. All your uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here in our group with us, helping us save the world and kick your father's tail. He'd be very proud of you," she added, swiping hard at his shoulder with claws sheathed.

"Ow," Bearclaw yelped, licking his shoulder. "What the hell was that for?"

Nightfoot smiled. "That's how I show affection. You'll get used to it."

Bearclaw chuckled weakly at this, feeling the relief numb the temporary pain. Maybe Nightfoot was right about this. Maybe he had already redeemed himself by joining AvatarClan and helping them save all the Clans. He felt a bit better after that; nothing could upset him now.

"Cool Bearclaw face!" the ginger kit with the Goldwing mask mewed to the FireClan warrior. "But...your scar's on the wrong side," he added, pointing at the scar before running off.

"It's NOT on the wrong side!" Bearclaw snarled after the kit.

_Well...that's ONE thing that upset me, _he thought, laying his head on his forepaws again. _But it's no big deal. No big deal at all._

Meanwhile, Ashfeather and Echo had managed to sneak backstage to see if the actors were there. And lo and behold, the actors were there, resting and talking with one another as if they had been lifelong friends. Ashfeather and Echo poked their heads out from behind the doorway, trying to find the actor of Ashfeather.

There he was, the bucktoothed gray tom who was padding his way towards them, not seeing them. Ashfeather could not wait to make his actor seem more funny.

"He's coming this way," Echo hissed.

Quickly, Ashfeather leapt out from the doorway and faced his actor. They were around the same height, but the real one was a bit stockier due to true warrior training.

"Can I help you?" his actor asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Actually, I think _I_ can help _you_," the real Ashfeather purred, smiling brightly. "Lemme tell ya, I'm a big fan of Ashfeather...but I don't think you're being him quite as well as you could be."

However, his actor did not look that much convinced. Instead, he turned around and started walking away, muttering, "Oh no...another fan with ideas."

The real Ashfeather leapt in the way quickly, not wanting to give up. "Just hear me out, okay?" When he nodded, the former dug through his bag and pulled out some cards, adding, "Here's something I think the real Ashfeather would say. For example: 'What kind of kids do cabbages own? A cabbage patch kid!'" he finished, laughing at his own joke.

Behind him, Echo just smacked her forehead with her paw.

To his surprise, his actor chuckled as he read the cards, making Echo look up in surprise. "Hey, that's actually good. Lemme see those." So Ashfeather handed him the cards, and the actor read through them, laughing at each joke. "Let's see...rocky relationship? Hehe...not bad!"

"Another bit of advice," Real Ashfeather meowed. "Don't be afraid to make up some phrases. Especially before an attack. Something like 'Flying Kick-A-Pow!' Or even 'Skadoosh!'"

"YOU are funny, my man!" Actor Ashfeather laughed. "Who are you, anyways?"

Real Ashfeather grinned in satisfaction. "I'm just a guy who likes comedy. Nothing more."

**...**

The moon outside was slowly covered in clouds, perhaps showing its anger towards the play. But the play was not upsetting Goldwing right now; what was upsetting about it was bothering him, though. He looked around at Silverheart, who had leapt up onto the railing next to him, her fur glowing in a patch of moonlight.

However, not even this sight was enough to cheer him up. Goldwing had to know the truth, if Silverheart really did not like him back...in a romantic way. He had to know.

"Silverheart?" The white tabby warrior turned to him as he spoke to her. "Did...did you really mean what you said in there?"

"In where?" Silverheart asked, looking confused. "What are you meowing about?"

Goldwing flicked his tail back to the theater, feeling betrayed. "On the stage back there. When you said I was just like a brother to you and you didn't have feelings for me. And how you always liked Bearclaw."

Silverheart sighed. "Of course I didn't say that. And of course I'm not in love with Bearclaw. An actor said that, remember?"

"But it's true, right?" Goldwing asked. "We nuzzled at the invasion, and I thought we were going to be mates after that...but we're not."

"But YOU nuzzled me," she reminded him. Silverheart turned to the ocean, an unsure look on her face. "I know that the rule against inter-Clan relationships is now gone, but right now...I don't know...I just don't know."

Goldwing stared back at her, unable to hear how she could say that. "Why, Silverheart? Why don't you know?"

Silverheart looked away from him and towards the theater. "Because we're in the middle of a war and...we have other things to worry about. I mean, being with you _would _be nice, but...I'm sorry, Goldwing, but...this isn't the right time."

"Well, when _is_ the right time going to be?" Goldwing asked, growing impatient.

"I-I...right now, things are very complicated. And I'm just a bit confused," Silverheart replied softly, looking away and closing her eyes. "Just give me some time."

_But when will the thinking be over? _Goldwing thought, now running out of patience. He had wanted to be Silverheart's mate as long as he could remember...but now...she was pushing him away from her. The thought of her being in love with Bearclaw was unbearable...but he wanted to know if she would return her feelings to him. And if they were all going to die instead of live, he would have to show her right now.

So while Silverheart looked away, Goldwing took a step forth and pressed his nose against hers. When she let out a small gasp, he leaned over her ear and licked it softly, rubbing her cheek with his after that. It felt so wrong to try and force her to choose right away...but it felt so right to show his feelings for her to see. But sadly, it did not last that long.

"Goldwing!" she snapped, leaping away from him. "What the hell is the matter with you?! I just said I was confused!" When he didn't move out of shock and hurt, she growled, "Just forget it. I'm going inside."

At that, she leapt down from the railing and ran back inside, not even looking back at him.

Goldwing could not believe it. He blew it. There was a chance to show her how he felt, and he messed it all up. What was worse was that Silverheart might not want to be with him after that. Letting out a heavy sigh, he started head-butting the pole beside him until he felt blood drip down from his forehead. Unlike other times, Silverheart was not here now to pull him away.

"Argh!" Goldwing hissed, stopping with the head-butting. He then spat at himself, "Goldwing, you idiot! You blew it!"

He waited for Silverheart to come back out and they could make up, but she didn't. Sighing once again, Goldwing leapt down from the railing and washed the blood off of his forehead from the nearby fountain. He made it back inside the theater, where the rest of AvatarClan was sitting at. Ashfeather, Bearclaw, and Nightfoot welcomed him back, and as did Echo. Only Silverheart did not turn around.

"Hey, buddy! Here's what you missed," Ashfeather whispered. "We went to FireClan and you got better and we planned the invasion and Silverheart was Spottedleaf and I got a sword and I think Explosion Cat died. Crazy, huh?"

But Goldwing nodded slowly and turned back to Silverheart, looking at the back of her head. She did not even turn around to speak with him; he supposed she was still angry with him.

Quickly Ashfeather mewed, "Oooooh look! The Invasion's gonna start! Shh."

So now, they were all looking at the scene where the submarine whales had surfaced during the Invasion of FireClan. But the whales here looked like the descriptions Ashfeather had drawn for the Scientist: childish and cartoonish. Actresses Silverheart and Goldwing were standing on a whale prop, looking at each other.

"I just want to let you know that I'll always love you," Actress Silverheart meowed. And just when the real Goldwing smiled a bit at this, she quickly added, "Like a brother."

That made Goldwing stare in shock. _What?! We nuzzled!_

"I wouldn't want it any other way!" Actress Goldwing purred. "Come here, pal!"

When that was said and done, they nodded in a friendly gesture and gave each other a high-five with their paws. Then Actress Goldwing unfolded her mini glider while the rope pulled her up. On the ground, Actress Silverheart waved goodbye to her.

The real Goldwing let out a small snarl and covered his face with his paws. He could not believe that nuzzling Silverheart in the Invasion had not gotten her to like him back. When he looked up, the real Silverheart looked away from the stage sadly. But he had to look up when Actress Silverheart was on stage, Actors Ashfeather and Nightfoot beside her and looking around.

"Hey Nightfoot!" Actor Ashfeather purred. "Do you and Goldwing have a _rocky relationship_?"

The audience laughed out loud at that, but that was nothing compared to Ashfeather. The black tom was going ballistic and laughing to himself, grabbing his head and then grabbing his mate by her shoulders. Echo looked a bit disturbed, but she did not move away from him. Goldwing glared up at him and hid his face behind his paws again, unable to bear with all the shipping.

"Aw, come on," the real Ashfeather purred, patting his head. "Cheer up! I told him to say that."

Goldwing just growled and paid no attention.

Meanwhile, Actor Ashfeather was saying, "I hope everyone's ready for the Invasion! Woo-Ka-Chow!" he cried, doing a crazy swiping move.

Actress Silverheart and Actor Nightfoot looked surprised by the line while the audience laughed. The real Ashfeather once again laughed to himself and thumped his hind paw on the seat in great approval. Echo looked at her mate curiously, but she smiled since he seemed to enjoy himself.

The next part was the curtain being drawn up while two black clad stagehands pushed Darkstar's throne to the center of the stage and ran offstage. That was well in time, for Actress Silverheart and Actors Ashfeather and Nightfoot appeared on stage. Actress Goldwing got lowered in front of the throne set decoration by a rope, and the spotlight shone on her.

"We finally made it to the palace!" she yelped. "But no one's home!"

"Actually...I'm home and want to join you." Actor Bearclaw had appeared, another spotlight shining down on him.

Everyone paused as if they were soon going to attack. Then Actor Ashfeather shrugged and tossed his "weapon" away, mewing, "Eh...looks like we have no choice. Come on."

So everyone left the stage, Actress Goldwing being lifted away by the same rope.

Behind Goldwing, Ashfeather stretched and got up, grunting, "I guess that's it. The play's caught up to the present now. Well, we better go."

"Wait a minute, big guy," Echo scolded, pulling him back down. "The play's not over."

"But it IS over. Unless..." Ashfeather looked to the side and rubbed his chin with his forepaw. "...unless this is the _future_."

Echo rolled her eyes at him.

Suddenly, the stage turned pitch black as an evil-looking actor of Darkstar prowled out of the shadows, the light illuminating his face. His crown was too big, and his dark tabby pelt looked like it was improperly painted. Finally, an orange lantern was slowly being pulled across the stage above the throne, symbolizing the approaching Shadow Meteor.

_The meteor that will arrive before the end of greenleaf, _Goldwing thought with dread. It was already nearly the end of greenleaf, and he hadn't finished training yet.

"With the energy harnessed from that meteor, no one will be stop FireClan!" Actor Darkstar yowled, his voice sounding like a booming shriek.

Suddenly, Actress Frostfire rushed forth and bowed low before him, mewing, "Father, Bearclaw and the Avatar Cat are at the palace. They're trying to stop you!" She flicked her tail at the main actors as she said this.

Actor Darkstar sneered when he heard this. "Very well. You will take care of Bearclaw, and I shall face the Avatar Cat myself."

When he finished, he rose to his haunches, rose his paws in the air, and vanished with a puff of smoke. Actress Frostfire stood up and stalked over to the center of the stage as Actor Bearclaw appeared from the left side of the stage while Actress Goldwing was lowered down to the stage on the right. This must be what the final fight would be like.

"Goldwing, you fight Darkstar!" Actor Bearclaw called. "I'll hold her off."

With that, Actress Goldwing was pulled up and away by the rope.

"You are no longer my brother and my Clanmate," Actor Frostfire sneered, showing yellow fangs. "You are my enemy!"

Actor Bearclaw spat, "No! I am the next leader of FireClan!"

Actress Frostfire smirked. "Fine. Then bring it."

So she whipped out her blue streamer and sent it towards Actor Bearclaw as he took out his own red streamer and dodged the blue one. He jumped over Actress Frostfire's head, taking her spot while she ran towards his original spot. They threw their streamers towards each other and even batted at each other with their paws. Actor Bearclaw threw out his two red streamers, but Actress Frostfire ducked and leapt over him, returning back to their original positions.

Then Actress Frostfire swept her streamers in arcs around her body and lashed one paw out. Fake fire props made of paper popped up from the stage floor in front of her in increasing size towards Actor Bearclaw. A huge fire prop came up at his side, hiding him from view, but his silhouette was still seen.

"HONOR!" Actor Bearclaw howled in mock pain before falling to the floor.

Goldwing saw with a closer look that behind Actress Frostfire, Actor Bearclaw was now being lowered through a trap door. The former of these two looked towards the audience and dipped her head to the audience...a bit like what the real one would do.

But as the audience clapped and cheered, the other cats of AvatarClan stared at the real Bearclaw in a confused way. The FireClan warrior's face was also stunned, but he quickly turned away with a small huff.

Some more fake fire props came out from the sides to the center of the stage. Actress Goldwing was now padding onto the stage, looking around carefully. Behind her, Actor Darkstar was sitting in the dark behind her, concealed by the shadows. Until, that is, a spotlight shone down onto him, making Actress Goldwing turn to face him.

"So you have mastered all four elements, eh?" he sneered, standing up.

"Yeah!" Actress Goldwing retorted, arching her back to make herself look tougher. "And now, you're going down!"

Actor Darkstar sneered. "No, I don't think so. It is _you_ who are going down. You see, you are too late, Avatar Cat! The meteor is already here, and I'm unstoppable!" This made Actress Goldwing look on in surprise.

But the real Goldwing almost felt his brain go dead when he heard this. Actor Darkstar was right; any day now, the Shadow Meteor would return to the Earth to power the FireBenders' power. If Darkstar was to use that...he would be too unstoppable.

Meanwhile, Actor Darkstar had whipped his red streamers out and threw it Actress Goldwing as she leapt away. The streamers hit the floor in a puff of smoke, and a white-blue flag popped up from both ends of the actress' staff until she twirled the staff in arcs around her body. Across from her, Actor Darkstar was twirling the streamers around his body in arcs as well, throwing the streamers out, but Actress Goldwing leapt over him, twirling her staff along the way.

She landed and turned towards Actor Darkstar while they both twirled their prop weapons and stalked towards each other. Actor Darkstar threw his streamer out while Actress Goldwing bent low and tried to swipe her paws at his legs, leaping away and landing on all four feet. Now Actor Darkstar began to shoot streamers from his tail, and the rope pulled Actress Goldwing up over him as he continued to shoot more streamers but missed, letting her land on the other side.

Finally, Actor Darkstar swiped his claws out, and a large blast of fake fire was carried across the stage from behind him, wrapping around Actress Goldwing like a snake as she dropped her staff prop. A black clad stagehand was running offstage from behind the fake fire.

"Nooo..." Actress Goldwing moaned, twisting and circling within the cloth. Finally, the rope detached itself from her back, and she fell to her side, the cloth spread out around her.

"It is finished, Father," Actress Frostfire meowed, swiping her tongue over her jaws as she approached her father. "We have finally done it."

"Yes, we have done it!" At his roar, the entire stage was surrounded by cloths of fake fire. He was raised up by a moving platform with a cloth of fake fire behind him as he called, "The great dreams of my father Thistlestar, my father's father Shadowstar, and my ancestor Tigerstar have finally been realized."He lifted his head proudly as the FireClan banner unfurled from behind him. "I am now the ruler of all the Clans! The world is mine! LONG LIVE DARKSTAR!"

At this, the entire audience proceeded to give him a standing ovation. Darkstar was still in his victory pose, looking around at the ocean of cats. As if that wasn't enough, the loud chants of "Darkstar! Darkstar!" were enough to disturb the heavens.

The cats of AvatarClan stared on in disbelief, too shocked to even protest. Goldwing was the most shocked of all. Was this what FireClan was hoping for? The death of their Avatar Cat? StarClan must have had a cruel sense of humor to tell these cats otherwise, especially in not even telling Darkstar that he had to stop.

_StarClan help us all!_

**...**

Finally, they were all allowed to leave the theater, and the six cats of AvatarClan prowled back to Darkstar's greenleaf home. As they padded by the seashore, they were unhappy about how the play had portrayed them and ended.

"That...was the worst play ever," Bearclaw, who was in the lead, muttered.

"I agree," Goldwing mewed back.

"Yep," Silverheart added.

"Terrible," Echo groaned.

"Got that right!" Nightfoot meowed.

"But the effects were okay...for a FireClan play," Ashfeather finished.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: That was kinda funny...except for the drama. At first, I was gonna put the Actors names as stuff like "Bitch Goldwing" or "Bitch Bearclaw" like Family Guy. But I decided not to.**

**Katara: Well, it's a good thing it stopped; it wouldn't be good for ratings. Anyways...Aang and I had a fight about the play afterwards, and it hurt a lot. But we put it behind us.**

**Aang: (Hugs her) I'm sorry I hurt you with anything I said to you. I promise...no, I SWEAR...I'll never do it again.**

**Katara: (Hugs him back) Thanks.**

**AvatarCat12: I'm glad that's staying in the past. (To the readers) Read and review, folks! Those who do will get their own figurine of any actor from the play...along with your own favorite pizza. We do NOT allow flames, but we allow constructive criticism and advice of any kind.**

**Aang: And now, here is the preview for the series finale. The Shadow Meteor part 1: The Tiger Lord.**

**Summary: The time has come. The final battle is on its way...but AvatarClan has some fears and secrets to hide about the upcoming showdown. Goldwing then suddenly vanishes without a trace, leaving the others to try and find him. Meanwhile, Darkstar reveals his ultimate plan in conquering the Clans while having more plans for Frostfire.**

**Both: See ya next time!**


	18. The Tiger Lord

**AvatarCat12: This is it! The epic finale of Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat!**

**Katara: It's the big one! The episodes to end all episodes!**

**Aang: And it's the start for sequels too!**

**Katara: Yes, you're right. We've already got the sequel up right now, but we'll work on this one. Anyways, how about you say the disclaimer, Avatar Cat? It's your story after all.**

**AvatarCat12: Sure. Let's get on with the finale!**

**Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats do not belong to me. They belong to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter. Plus, I do not own the Broadway version of He Lives In You. It belongs to Disney, and this song will continue on in the next chapter.**

**Summary: The time has come. The final battle is on its way...but AvatarClan has some fears and secrets to hide about the upcoming battle. Goldwing then suddenly vanishes without a trace, leaving the others to try and find him. Meanwhile, Darkstar reveals his ultimate plan in conquering the Clans while having more plans for Frostfire. Can the Avatar Cat be found before the final showdown?**

**Uploading Date: November 28, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy the finale of Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat!**

**...**

_**Shadow Meteor: The Tiger Lord**_

A couple of days had passed since they had all seen the play about themselves. Bearclaw saw that Goldwing and Silverheart had started looking happy again, and he knew why. Earlier, they had gotten into a fight about their feelings in the play, and Goldwing had accidentally hurt her feelings. So Bearclaw stepped in and explained about how this play had gotten their feelings injured, so the two made up after this.

_I guess Uncle's spirit IS channeling through me after all._

Training began at Darkstar's old beach house, and Goldwing was crouching low before leaping up and creating swipes of fire rapidly. The rest of AvatarClan were watching them, and Bearclaw was sitting to the side, keeping watch over the training. However, Goldwing seemed to go a bit more slowly than usual.

"Come on!" Bearclaw yowled. "Be more ferocious!"

So Goldwing did just that, but he was slowly starting to halt his progress. Bearclaw sighed and growled, "Now imagine striking through your opponent's face."

"I'm trying!" Goldwing griped, swiping another shot around him.

"Good! Bearclaw barked. "Now let me hear you roar like a tiger!"

So Goldwing splayed his legs apart, lifted up his head...and squeaked rather softly with weak streams of fire coming out from his mouth. The Avatar Cat grinned blushingly at his weak attempt, but Bearclaw was not amused. Now was the time for hard practice, not making a game out of a powerful FireBending attack.

He yowled, "That was pathetic! I said roar, boy! ROAR!"

Digging in his paws, Goldwing spun around, threw back his head, and let out a yowl. The yowl sounded much like a tiger's roar, flames erupting from his jaws and flying towards the clouds. The intensity of the flames was enough to make Tobi squawk and flap over to behind Bearclaw to hide from the fire. Bearclaw, in the meantime, was proud of his FireBending apprentice. That yowl was enough to even make the spirits of TigerClan hear him.

_Good for him, _he thought, nodding in approval. _There's still hope of him beating my father once and for all._

"Who wants a nice cool bowl of ice cream?"

Quickly, both toms turned to see Silverheart passing around bowls of the stuff to the other cats. But Bearclaw did not move from his spot; he wanted Goldwing to train some more. However, when he looked to the side, he saw Goldwing's eyes widen and his mouth water slightly at the sight of the different ice cream flavors.

"Ooo, me, me, me!" the golden cat mewed with the manner of a kit, running towards them.

"Oh no you don't!" Bearclaw hissed, grabbing his tail and pulling him back. Goldwing tried to break away, his tongue lolling around like a dog, but the dark tabby spat, "I don't think so. Your lesson's not over yet! So _stay here_."

To make his point, he planted a large forepaw onto Goldwing's tail to make him stay in place. The latter sighed in disappointment, making Bearclaw smirk on the inside.

"Come on, Bearclaw, just take a break. What's the big deal?" Echo mewed from where she and Ashfeather sat on the steps, lapping up their ice cream.

Bearclaw glared at the tortoiseshell-&-white she-cat as if she had just insulted the leader of a Clan. But there was nothing he could do about lazy apprentices who wanted to play all day. So he lifted his paw and snarled, "Fine. Get your snack if you want it that badly."

As soon as his tail was released, Goldwing leapt to his paws and hared towards the ice cream, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Bearclaw was disgusted. His apprentice had done well in his FireBending training, but at the sound of something kits would do, he acted like one. And here was Goldwing now, getting a bowl of ice cream and lapping it up like a bear cub with no sense or manners.

"Okay, you can act like a kit," Bearclaw growled. "And as for the rest of you! If you want to laze around all day like a bunch of slowass sloths, then be my guests! I'm going back to training!" At this, he spun around and stalked away from them.

**(Author: This is a shout-out to Randall, the maker of the honey badger video. 'Cause honey badger don't care if you're on YouTube; I say hello from FanFiction!)**

"Maybe Bearclaw's right." He turned to see Ashfeather push his bowl aside. "I mean, sitting around HAS made us pretty lazy. In fact...we're like kittypets. But I know just the thing to change all that...BEACH PARTY!" he yowled, jumping into the air.

Hearing this, Bearclaw let out an irritated growl and stalked into the bushes of the jungle. Just when they were going to improve their way of training...they were going to goof off even more. The Shadow Meteor was going to arrive on Earth in a few more days, and they couldn't afford to lose any more time.

_Who knows? Maybe this "beach party" of theirs might be some training._

**...**

But he was wrong. To his fury, they were indeed goofing off. Ashfeather was leaping into the water with a loud cheer, coming back up with seaweed in his mouth as Echo watched from a rock. She looked confused as her mate came back with seaweed and a bucket of water in his jaws, complete with a big smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Silverheart had Bended a surfboard made of ice and was now riding the waves, her frame silhouetted by the sun. Back on land, Goldwing was holding a piece of wood in his teeth, placing it on a mound of sand to resemble Archie. The real Archie came up to it, let out a roar, and plodded on out of sight.

"Check out my Archie sand sculpture!" Goldwing purred, wagging his tail around.

"Not bad, frisky," Nightfoot yawned, padding up to them. "But I've actually worked hard on my SandBending. Just watch. You're gonna love it," she added, stretching her legs out.

Nightfoot moved her forepaws around and sent clouds of sand dust everywhere. Then the dust cleared to reveal a miniature replica of BoulderClan in the sand. The huge palace of the leader was in the middle with tiny houses surrounding it. The gray she-cat smiled as Goldwing came forth and crouched low, examining the details.

He let out a mew, "Wow, you even made a little Cavestar and Yogi!"

Bearclaw growled and looked over at Ashfeather. The black tom was frantically carving at his sculpture, sending specks of sand flying everywhere. Nightfoot and Goldwing padded up to him, shielding themselves from the sand.

Nightfoot smirked. "Try and beat some of that, Ashfeather."

So Ashfeather stepped to the side to reveal his sand sculpture. It was covered with red seaweed for head fur, pebbles for eyes, a pink starfish for a nose, and stones and seashells as a smile.

"What's that supposed to be?" Goldwing asked. "A blubbering seal?"

Ashfeather's eyes bugged out a bit. "No! It's Echo!"

Bearclaw snorted at this from the cliff, but Goldwing and Nightfoot had fallen over and began to laugh their heads off.

"We'll understand if you break up with him over this," Nightfoot chuckled as she got up.

"I think it's sweet," Echo purred. In reply, Ashfeather padded up to his mate and licked her gently on the cheek.

"But it doesn't even look like you," Goldwing added as he got up too.

Bearclaw watched this from on a cliff, snarling until his lips were peeled back. They had no idea what was coming to them, but they were acting so lazy that they didn't care. How could these cats even call themselves warrior cats? And why would they laze around if they wanted peace for the Clans and want Darkstar to be beaten?

_Screw this. Party bashing time._

So he sent a blast of fire at the sand sculpture, sending waves of send everywhere. Goldwing let out a yelp in surprise and shielded himself from the impact. The dust cleared, and the golden cat looked up at the cliff, where Bearclaw ran and leapt off, FireBending at him at the same time. He narrowly missed the flames and jumped across Nightfoot's sand sculpture; as he did, a ball of fire hit one of the sand houses, breaking it into a wave of sand. Goldwing landed on the other side near his sand sculpture as he turned around and then jumped over his sand sculpture.

Bearclaw followed him and ran across Nightfoot's sculpture towards him. Goldwing peeped out from behind Archie's sand head, yowling, "Bearclaw, what're you doing?!"

"Teaching you a lesson!" Bearclaw snapped, FireBending towards the Archie statue. Goldwing turned away before he leapt away from the blow. The river of fire "slashed" the Archie sculpture in half, destroying it into a pile of sand.

Goldwing leapt a safe distance away from him, and Bearclaw leapt at him with flaming claws, but he missed as the former leapt onto the cliff. Snarling, Bearclaw FireBended towards the cliff repeatedly as his pupil struggled to run across the uneven surface. The last blast shattered the top part of the cliff into rubble, and Bearclaw was able to scale up it easily, thanking moons of exile and self-training too.

"What in StarClan's name happened?!" Silverheart had come back from surfing.

"Bearclaw's gone crazy! Bananas!" Ashfeather yelped. "I made a sand sculpture of Echo, and he destroyed it! RUINED IT! Oh, and he's attacking Goldwing," he added quickly.

Meanwhile, Bearclaw was in hot pursuit after Goldwing, swiping at him and the latter leaping out of the way in time. The fire cleared, and the golden tom ran to the top of a rock and jumped off before Bearclaw sent strong blasts of fire at the rock, crumbling it into pieces. Goldwing sank his teeth into a nearby tree trunk as Bearclaw leapt off the rock and towards him. However, he had landed at the bottom of the tree, setting it on fire. Once again, Goldwing escaped from the wrathful flames.

Bearclaw watched as the tree caught fire and Goldwing landed on the beach house's roof, out of view. He did the same, landing on the beach house's railings as he scaled his way to the roof. Seeing Goldwing standing on one edge of the roof, he pulled himself up and quickly got into a battle stance.

Spotting the tabby, Goldwing called, "Calm down before I blast you off this roof!"

"Then go ahead!" Bearclaw dared him. "Do it!"

At that, he swiped fire at him again, catching him by the shoulder. Goldwing slid down the roof as jets of fire set the path he was on alight. His shoulder bleeding, he reached the end of the roof and grabbed onto the edge with his teeth as he swung himself into a nearby room through the window. Bearclaw blasted a hole through the roof, sending some debris into the room, as he leapt down and landed with a thud.

The FireClan tom stalked around the room and looked around warily, the place stinking of ashes and cinders. Suddenly, he spotted a drawer moving towards him, so he got rid of it it by burning it into pieces with a fiery swipe. And then...he spotted him.

Goldwing had just sprinted out from the room, making Bearclaw lunge after him and Bend huge arcs of flame around himself. He sent the tunnel of fire towards his pupil, who found himself being slowly engulfed by the fire. Suddenly, he Bended the fire away with air, creating a safe space for him to land on without get burnt.

"ENOUGH!" Goldwing roared, the fire glowing in his eyes as he sent a huge tunnel of air at Bearclaw.

With those words, he AirBended a huge tunnel of air towards Bearclaw, extinguishing the fire at the same time. Bearclaw let out a yowl of surprise as he was pushed back by the strong air pressure, followed with the spinning attack called the Battouga. The side of the house got ripped open by the visible tunnel of wind, throwing out wooden debris along with him, and it made him fly at some trees and slide down its branches. He had landed next to Goldwing, who was glaring blankly at him, panting with some blood oozing down his shoulder. Bearclaw let out a growl of dizziness and leapt once more at him.

Just when he reached Goldwing and sank his jaws into his scruff, he felt someone butt him out of the way, making him release him. Bearclaw stood back up to see the others coming towards the two of them, Silverheart having been the one who push him away.

"Bearclaw, what the HELL is wrong with you?!" she spat, her eyes like fragments of ice as she stood over the golden cat. "You could've killed Goldwing!"

"What the HELL is wrong with _me_?!" Bearclaw repeated, glaring back at her. He glared at them all and snarled, "What the HELL is wrong with _all of you_?! Lazing around like fat and pampered kittypets as if all is fine and dandy in StarClan! How can you just sit around having beach parties when the Shadow Meteor is only three days away?!"

To his surprise, the others looked away, looking guilty about something. Suspicious, Bearclaw asked, "What? Why're you all staring at me? Do I have fish guts on my fur?"

No one spoke at first as they gave each other uncomfortable glances. Finally, Goldwing stepped forth and meowed, "Bearclaw...about the Shadow Meteor...I was actually going to wait to fight Darkstar until after it came."

"After?" Bearclaw repeated.

"I'm not ready," Goldwing went on, looking unconfident and unsure. "I just need more time to master FireBending."

"And frankly, your EarthBending could still use some work too," Nightfoot added.

Goldwing lowered his head.

Bearclaw stared around at them all, unable to believe what he had just heard. "So...let me get this straight. You all knew Goldwing was going to wait?"

"Honestly, if Goldwing tries to fight Darkstar right now, he's screwed," Ashfeather meowed. "No offense, Goldwing."

"Stopping FireClan from winning the war is the whole point of defeating Darkstar before the meteor came," Silverheart added, looking a bit ashamed. "But they pretty much won the war when they took over BoulderClan. Things can't get any worse than that," she finished, dropping her head in defeat.

Bearclaw knew he would have to spill it. He would have to tell them about the meeting he had been invited to a moon ago. It had made his fur tingle with worry about what he had planned, but it would be worth it to risk his life to protect the world.

"You're wrong. All of you. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine." Bearclaw took a deep breath and began his tale.

"The day before the eclipse came, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about and wanted for so many moons. My father had finally accepted me back. When I went inside, Darkstar was seated in his throne, a map of EarthClan spread out on a table with warriors seated around the length of the table.

"'Greetings, Bearclaw,' Father greeted me. 'We have waited for you.'

"The warriors looked at me, and Frostfire was already seated on our father's left. He gestured to me, his son, to take his seat, so that's what I did. I swore his eyes didn't leave me while I sat down, but I was just too excited to care.

"When everyone settled down, Darkstar meowed to a tabby, 'Shrewfang, state your report.'

"'Thank you, sir,' Shrewfang meowed, bowing. He stood up and began his speech, 'BoulderClan is still fortunately under our control. However, EarthBender rebellions have prevented us from reaching total victory in their territory.'

"'What is your recommendation?' Darkstar asked, frowning at this news.'

"Shrewfang went on, 'Our army is spread too thin, but once the eclipse is over and the invasion defeated, we should transfer more of our warriors into EarthClan.'

"I just sat there, feeling very uninterested in it all. All I was thinking about was more ways to please my father." Bearclaw sighed at this before going on, "But then, my father meowed to me, 'Bearclaw, you have been among the EarthClan masses, have you not? Do you think that sending more of our warriors will stop these rebellions?'

"I looked down and thought it over. My uncle Irontail had gotten along with plenty of EarthClan cats while he and I were exiled from the Clan. Fortunately, his wisdom had already gotten to me and had made me wiser than before.

"'The cats of EarthClan are like the earth itself: proud and strong warriors,' I finally replied. 'They can endure anything as long as they have hope.'

"'Yes...you're right,' my father meowed. Then he lifted his head and called, 'So all we need to do now is to destroy their hope!'

"I blinked over at him, not liking where this was going. So I tried to talk him out of it, saying 'Well...no, that's not exactly what I...'

"But Frostfire interrupted me. 'I think you should take their precious little hope and the rest of their land and burn it all to the ground. Leave not even a holly bush on the earth,' she sneered, smiling at her own brilliant suggestion.

"'Yes...' Darkstar hissed with an evil sneer. 'Yes, you're right, Frostfire. You surely are a very intelligent warrior.'

"Frostfire smirked, and Darkstar got up from his seat, stalking around us. 'The Shadow Meteor is almost upon us and on that day it will endow us with the strength and power of a hundred Suns. No Bender or any other Clan cat will stand a chance against us. Not even StarClan could stop us in our quest for victory.'

"'What are you suggesting, sir?' Shrewfang asked.

"'When the comet last came, my grandfather, Shadowstar, used it to wipe out the AirClan cats,' my father explained. His voice got more sinister as he went on, "Now I shall use its power to end EarthClan. Forever. From our zeppelins, we shall make fire rain over their lands! A fire that will burn and destroy _everything_! And out of the ashes, a new world will be born! A world in which _all_ the lands are FireClan and _I_ am the supreme ruler! For we are FireClan! We are warriors! AND I AM..._DARKSTAR_!'

"As I heard them all applaud and chant his name, I lowered my head. I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan. But I'm ashamed to say that I didn't. In my whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance." He sighed and leapt onto a rock, sitting down and looking down at them. "But once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. I forgotten who I was. The cat I wanted to be."

At this, their reactions were what he didn't expect. Silverheart had dropped to her belly on the ground, her eyes filled with a few tears. Echo looked shocked, and Ashfeather padded up to her to lick her cheek comfortingly.

"I-I can't believe this..." Silverheart rasped, shaking her head in shock. "H-How could he?"

"I always knew Darkstar was a heartless bastard," Ashfeather meowed while Echo shook her head. "But this plan of his...it's just...just _pure evil_."

Goldwing looked frightened and even unsure. "What...what'll I do?"

Bearclaw leapt down from the rock and padded towards him. "Goldwing, I know you're scared, and I know you're not ready to save the world and the Clans. But if you don't defeat Darkstar before the meteor comes, there won't be a world or any Clans to save anymore."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldwing paced away, unable to believe what his ears had heard. Darkstar was planning a great and terrible plot to destroy the Clans and burn the land down. He could not believe he had not heard of this sooner...and Bearclaw had attended that meeting, after all.

"Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan sooner?" he snapped at Bearclaw.

Bearclaw shrugged irritably. "I didn't think I had to. I just thought you were still going to fight him before the meteor. No one told me you decided to wait!"

Goldwing could not really argue with the dark tabby tom anymore. He stepped away from him, muttering, "This is bad. This is really, really bad. StarClan, what am I to do?"

He looked away from everyone, trying to think it over. How could he train if he had to battle Darkstar before the meteor came? This was perhaps one of the worst Clan leaders in history he was going to fight, and he was far behind.

"Goldwing." Silverheart's soft mew turned to face the white tabby she-cat. "You don't have to do this alone. You have us with you."

Nightfoot nodded. "Yeah. If we all fight Darkstar together, we got a shot at taking him down."

Bearclaw and Echo stepped forth and nodded the same thing. This made Goldwing feel slightly better, knowing that his friends had always been by his side when things went bad.

"Yeah! AvatarClan is back, dudes!" Ashfeather cheered, raising a fan-like palm leaf into the air. Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Fan and sword!" he finished, waving his sword around like crazy but not hitting any cats.

Everyone laughed at this for a bit before Goldwing turned back to his friends. All six of them were a team, and together, they could conquer any bad thing thrown their way. It was as if all four Clans had united once again, like a lion to drive a tiger out of its home.

"Fighting Darkstar will be the hardest thing we've ever done together. But...I wouldn't want to do it any other way," he told them. "So let's give it everything we've got!"

"Yeah," Nightfoot purred, padding forth to give him a hug.

"You got that right, buddy," Ashfeather added, doing the same.

Silverheart and Echo padded forth to join in the group hug,but Bearclaw stayed standing where he was. By the look on his face, he looked torn between supportive of the Avatar Cat and a bit confused at the group hug.

"Come on, Bearclaw. Get over here," Silverheart purred to him. "Being part of the group also means being part of group hugs."

Goldwing watched in amusement as the big tabby looked to the side with a "Do I really have to do this?" look on his face. But finally, he gave a small shrug and padded forth to fit into the opening Echo and Nightfoot had created. Archie let out a growl, and as the cats looked up, they were tackled to the ground by the giant dragon. Tobi gave a caw and flew onto Archie's head, letting out a caw.

This made Goldwing feel much better on the inside. They were all together, and they could work together to defeat Darkstar once and for all.

**...**

"There's one technique you need to know before facing my father," Bearclaw meowed. "And that's how to redirect lightning."

Goldwing nodded in eagerness. Bearclaw had told him that it was time for him to learn a very special move that his uncle Irontail had taught him. They were sitting in the courtyard of the house, Silverheart and Tobi watching from the side.

Bearclaw was sitting on his haunches with his forelegs in the air, preparing to teach the Avatar Cat. He stretched his left forepaw out, and the toes on his right paw touched the toes on his left paw as he traced a path down his leg, shoulder, belly, and back out the other. His left paw touched the right again, making them parallel to each other. Then he repeated the motion to the left side of his body.

"See?" Bearclaw meowed when he was finished. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's energy against them."

Goldwing sat on his haunches, starting to mimic the motions. "Wow...it's like WaterBending."

Bearclaw nodded with a small smile as he continued the move. "Yep. My uncle Irontail invented this technique himself by studying WaterBending cats."

"Have you ever redirected lightning before?" Goldwing asked curiously.

Bearclaw's smile faded away to a frown. But he mewed, "Only once...against my father."

Goldwing watched as the dark brown tabby tom stopped. "What did it feel like?"

"Exhilarating...but terrifying," Bearclaw replied, making Goldwing's tail wave around. "You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body. But you know that if you make the wrong move and you go down, it's over. It's the rule of claw and fang."

"Oh..." Goldwing mewed. He turned to Silverheart, meowing, "Well, not over OVER, right? I mean, Silverheart could fix things up with a little spirit water action...right?"

"Actually...I used it all up after you got shot by Frostfire," Silverheart replied, shrugging.

Goldwing lowered his head, realizing that without it, he might be dead when the lightning hit him. So he turned away from the white tabby she-cat and faced Bearclaw again, the latter looking very serious this time.

"So you know what to do, right?" he asked him. "You'll have to battle Darkstar...and kill him before he kills you. Until none of his lives are left."

Hearing this, Goldwing looked away. He had never killed another cat before (directly), and he sure did not want to now.

But he wanted to make sure Bearclaw would be comforted by this answer, so he meowed, "Yeah...I'll just do that."

**...**

The training session was to take place at sundown near an area full of rocks. They did manage to find prey like birds-of-paradise and large jungle mice and caught some for later. There was a large watermelon with some face carvings resembling a jack-o-lantern right on the top of the tallest rock near a wooden structure with a red cloth. Ashfeather finished dropping it onto there before calling out for everyone to hear.

"Gather, AvatarClan!" he called, leaping down. When the cats gathered near the rock, he took a stick and drew a line curving to the left at the melon symbol on the ground. "To take out Darkstar...or in this case, Melonstar...our timing has to be perfect. First, Echo and I will draw his fire to distract him."

He drew a line in the middle and went on, "Next, Silverheart and Bearclaw will charge in with some liquidly hot offence, and while 'Melonstar' is distracted, Goldwing swoops in and then BAM!" he finished, drawing a line curving to the right, which ran through the symbol. "He gets to deliver the final blow, and the war will be over."

Goldwing stared down at the drawing with slight disgust. They did not seem to see that he did not want to kill a cat; it was dishonorable and went against the Warrior Code. But he did not want to cause a fuss, so he kept his mouth shut.

Before anyone else could say a word, Nightfoot asked impatiently, "Hey, what about me?"

"For now, you're the forces of Melonstar," Ashfeather told her.

"You mean I get to toss flaming rocks at all of you?" the blind gray she-cat asked in amazement.

Ashfeather nodded. "Sure. Whatever makes the training feel realistic."

For a minute, Nightfoot stayed quiet as if she had just spotted a juicy piece of fresh-kill. Then a smile spread across her face as she purred, "Sweetness!"

So she spun around and leapt to where the Melonstar target was at, sitting in front of it. The target was in a sitting position, on its haunches and its forelegs out in a V-shape.

'Muahahahahahaha! I am Melonstar, destroyer of the Clans!" Nightfoot roared. The young blind cat was surrounded by a ring of huge boulders covered with seaweed-like things. A ring of fire in bowls was sitting outside the boulders, probably used as firepower for the target.

Bearclaw and Silverheart were hiding behind some rocks, looking out at Nightfoot. Bearclaw turned his head to Goldwing, who padded out of another hiding place with Tobi on his shoulders. He looked to the side at Ashfeather and Echo, who were also peering out of their places. As quick as a flick of an ear, Ashfeather gave the signal to go. So all the cats sprang out of their hiding places except for Goldwing, who stayed behind.

_It's all part of training. I have to stay put until they weaken his forces._

Ashfeather and Echo broke off into a run before the ground shook and popped up FireClan cats made of rock charging at them. Sword in his jaws, Ashfeather broke the rock in half while Echo leapt over his head, delivering a kick to another rock soldier and knocking it down. They ran on some more before a flaming boulder dropped down over them. Echo leapt onto the rock and made an impressive leap over the enemy line. Below, Ashfeather was lying on the ground with his face mere kit-steps away from being crushed.

"Shit! Hey Nightfoot, watch it!" Ashfeather barked at Nightfoot.

But Nightfoot called, "I am not this Nightfoot cat! I am Melonstar! Muahahahahaha!"

When she said this, she Bended a rock over the bowl of fire as it got ignited instantly, and she sent it towards Bearclaw and Silverheart, who managed to dodge it. The two cats went back-to-back as a ring of rock warriors surrounded them. But these two managed to fight them off as one, using fire and water to destroy the rocks. Goldwing felt bad for accusing Silverheart for having a crush on Bearclaw; they were getting to be good friends.

"Now, Goldwing!" Ashfeather cried as flaming rocks were sent over his head continuously.

Hearing this, Goldwing hurled himself from the rock, holding his staff in his teeth as he leapt high into the air. He began spinning in midair, preparing to do the Battouga, his signature move, and hurled himself at the scarecrow. This was what he had trained for: to defeat Darkstar and...

But then...he realized he couldn't do it. This was what it was like to attack a target that could not fight for itself. So as soon as he got near, he managed to pull himself out of the Battouga and landed in front of the scarecrow, his staff a bit away from its face but not doing the finishing move. He looked at the scarecrow before pulling his staff back and turning away. He was not going to kill anyone...not even a silly scarecrow.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Bearclaw called from on a rock. "Take him out!"

Goldwing shook his head and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, but...I-I can't."

But when he opened his eyes, he saw Ashfeather stalk up to him, an accusing look in his pale blue eyes. "Goldwing what the hell is wrong with you? If this was a real battle, you'd be shot full of lightning right now!"

"But it...it just didn't feel right," Goldwing confessed, not meeting his furious gaze. "I didn't feel like myself."

So Ashfeather pulled his sword up to him, held it in his jaws, and swung it towards the target scarecrow. Goldwing closed his eyes and looked away, but he could not block his ears from the slashing and squishing sound that came with it; Ashfeather must have cut the watermelon in half. He grimaced at the act, but he did not want to complain, so he opened his eyes.

"There," Ashfeather meowed, standing next to the scarecrow. "That's the way the battle rolls."

Just then, a piece of the watermelon fell off and hit the ground. A few mice ran forward and began to lick the insides, but Tobi swooped down and caught one mouse, tearing into its flesh.

Seeing this all made Goldwing turn away from this. Once again, they were expecting him to kill Darkstar so that the world could be over right away. In the time of the old Clans, that might have been right...but now, he wasn't sure about this.

**...**

That night, they all went over to the courtyard, carrying their catch. Goldwing had halfheartedly caught a bird-of-paradise, Echo and Nightfoot caught a mouse, Silverheart and Ashfeather got some colorful carp, and Bearclaw got a huge rabbit.

But while the rest were heartily tucking in to their dinner, Goldwing looked down at his half-eaten bird sadly. He was still upset about how they were expecting him to end Darkstar's life. Just then, Silverheart had arrived to sit beside her just-nibbled fish, a long scroll in her jaws.

"Hey everyone!" the white tabby purred. "I got a surprise for you!"

"I knew it!" Nightfoot meowed, giving her former mentor a satisfied smile. "You DID have a crush on Brindleheart!"

Silverheart just gave her an expressionless look as if she heard a fish in the river died. Next to her, Ashfeather, Echo, and Bearclaw also stared at the EarthClan cat with equally expressionless looks. Due to being blind, Nightfoot shrugged it off and got back to chewing on the mouse she was eating.

Finally, Silverheart meowed, "...no. I was looking for some margarine when I came across this." She put the scroll down as it unrolled by itself, revealing a giggling one-moon-old tabby kit with a moss ball in its jaws on the beach. "Look at baby Bearkit! Isn't he so _cuuuute_?" she added, her voice rising to a coo.

Everyone laughed and cooed with her except Bearclaw. The FireClan warrior looked over to the side, his eyes closed as he looked down.

"Bearclaw, I was just teasing," Silverheart spoke up. "Just cheer up."

"That's not me," Bearclaw meowed, looking back at her. "It's my father when he was a kit."

Echo looked confused. "But how could Darkstar have grown to be such a monster? I mean, he looked so sweet and innocent in that picture."

Bearclaw snorted. "Well, that didn't last long. That sweet and innocent kit grew up to be a monster. A bastard. And the worst father in the history of fathers in the Clans."

"But he's still a cat like us."

Everyone turned to Goldwing, who found himself wishing that he hadn't spoken up. He looked to the side to make sure no one paid more attention, but they were still staring at him.

"You mean you're actually defending him?" Bearclaw asked in disbelief.

Goldwing stood up to face the other cats. "No, I agree with you. Darkstar is a horrible cat, and the Clans will be better off without him. But there's gotta be another way to beat him."

Bearclaw still glared at him. "Like what?"

"I don't know," Goldwing admitted, trying to create a plan. So he meowed, "Maybe we can make some pots of glue to use against him. Then I can use some GlueBending to stick his legs and tail together so he can't Bend anymore."

"Oh yeah, sure," Bearclaw spat sarcastically. "Then you can show him his kitten pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again." This remark made the others snicker a bit at his tone and sarcasm.

Goldwing lifted his tail in joy. "You really think that'll work?"

"HELL NO!"

The serious and harsh reply forced Goldwing to sigh and pace around. There went that plan. He began to meow, "Look, you guys. This goes against everything I learned from the monks...and very much against the Warrior Code. I can't just go around and kill cats I don't like!"

"Of course you can. You're the Avatar Cat," Ashfeather told him. "If it's to keep balance, I'm pretty sure StarClan will forgive you. Right?"

"Ashfeather, this isn't funny!" Goldwing snarled, stung as he whirled around to face him. "This is serious! None of you understand the position I'm in!"

"We _do_ understand," Silverheart meowed calmly. "It's just..."

But Goldwing rudely interrupted her, snapping, "Just what, Silverheart?! What?!"

Silverheart stared back at him in annoyance. "Don't raise your voice. We're just trying to help."

"Then call me when you figure out a way for me to beat Darkstar without killing him!" the Avatar Cat growled, stalking away to get some alone time. "I'd love to hear it!"

"Goldwing, don't walk away from this!" Silverheart called, getting up to go after him. When he only ignored her, she yowled, "_Goldwing_!"

But Bearclaw held out a foreleg, stopping her, "Just let him go, Silverheart. He needs time to sort it out by himself."

**...**

Goldwing sat alone on the balcony of Darkstar's place,the trees surrounding the house. There was a table of fire in front of him, four candles on it along with some offerings consisting of a mouse, a starling, and a bowl of water. He knew he was too harsh with his friends, but they just did not understand his morals and how he had to deal with them.

How could they ask him, a cat that hated violence, to kill Darkstar? No matter how many times he had to tell them, they seemed to not understand how this would affect his morals. There had to be a better way to defeat Darkstar without killing him.

Suddenly, Tobi flew over to him and landed on his shoulder, gazing at him with those piercing green eyes. Goldwing gave a halfhearted purr and reached up to pat him on the head.

"Hey Tobi. I don't suppose _you_ know what I should do." Tobi made a little cawing noise, so Goldwing lowered his head, muttering, "I didn't think so."

Tobi took off and landed on a chair, settling down while Goldwing returned to meditating. Finally, after having thought over a lot of stuff for an hour, he blew out the candles and fell asleep on the spot.

_Ingonyama Nengw Emelabala_

_Ingonyama Nengw Emelabala_

Goldwing suddenly sat right up as he heard a distant chanting in his head. It sounded a bit like African music, except that this was a bit more mysterious than the real music. But whatever it was, something was calling him.

Not even aware of what he was doing, Goldwing stood up, padded over the tray, and leapt over the balcony railing. Behind him, Tobi was awakened and looked at his master before hopping onto the railing before flying off. Goldwing had landed on the ground and was padding briskly on the path to the ocean as Tobi circled around him in the air. He did not stop for anything; all his tired brain knew was that the ocean was calling him.

The two of them had reached the edge of the shore. With no hesitation, Goldwing walked into the water and started to swim, the water tickling his belly. Tobi was still on the beach, watching his master swim out to sea before looking back towards the forested area. Then with a caw, the red-tailed hawk lifted off and flew after him.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Okay, that's everything," Ashfeather meowed the next morning. "Everyone ready?"

Everyone had gotten prepared for when the day would come to fight Darkstar. Already, the Shadow Meteor would be arriving in two more nights, and they needed all the strength and brains they needed to be ready. Bearclaw was sure that they could succeed together.

"No," Nightfoot called from the steps. When everyone turned to look at her, Archie eating a hen casually, the gray she-cat went on, "Where's Goldwing at? I haven't seen him all morning."

The rest of the cats looked surprised, including Bearclaw. Goldwing was gone? So they all ran off to look for him, looking from room to room and trying to catch a scent.

"Goldwing?" Bearclaw called, looking around. "Goldwing, where are you?"

"Come on, you lazy furball!" Nightfoot called. "Let's go!"

So Ashfeather, Echo, and Silverheart headed to the right of the corridor while Nightfoot and Bearclaw headed in the opposite direction. They tried the nearest dark room, opening the door hard, as Bearclaw went in to check. So far, there was neither hair nor whisker of Goldwing. So he padded out of the room and met up with Nightfoot, who gave him a "nothing" shrug. Then they met up with the others, who were still searching for Goldwing.

Suddenly, Ashfeather turned around to walk over to the balcony. Goldwing's AirBending staff was there, making Ashfeather give a confused twitch of his whiskers. Silverheart and Echo went after him with Bearclaw and Nightfoot behind them.

"He left his staff behind," Ashfeather reported, holding the staff in his teeth. "That's weird."

"Well, Goldwing's not in the house," Bearclaw reported back. "Let's go check the beach."

So the five cats went outside to the beach, arriving at a broken docking area on the edge of the sea. Two pelicans dove into the water for fish before them, but they did not pay attention to the water birds. Instead, they had found something in the sand.

"Look! Pawprints!" Ashfeather meowed, pointing to the prints. "The trail ends here."

"So...he went for a nightly swim and never came back?" Echo guessed.

"Maybe he was captured," Silverheart meowed with worry.

Ashfeather shook his head. "No, I don't think so. There's no sign of a struggle. No blood, no tufts of fur...nothing."

Nightfoot stepped forth to sniff at the tracks. "I bet you a mouse tail he ran away again."

"Uh-uh. He left behind his glider and Archie," Ashfeather told her. "He'd never do that."

"Then what do _you_ think happened to him, oh grand and wise detective?" Nightfoot asked sarcastically.

Ashfeather lifted his tail in an obvious "I got it!" way. "It's pretty obvious, ain't it? Goldwing just mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a StarClan journey."

But Bearclaw doubted this. The last time he had done something like this, he was a rogue trying to capture him for his own needs. Goldwing had not disappeared like water vapor; his body was still there on the ground.

"But wouldn't his body still be here if he was?" he asked.

"Oh..." Ashfeather lowered his tail in response and chuckled in embarrassment. "...yeah, I forgot about that."

Silverheart spoke up, "Then Goldwing still has to be somewhere on Black-Sand Island. Let's split up into small teams and look for him."

"I wanna go with Bearclaw!" Nightfoot called, pressing her pelt against said tom's long fur. As they gazed at her curiously, she meowed, "What? Everyone else got to go on a life changing field-trip with Bearclaw. Why shouldn't _I _get a turn?"

At this, the gray she-cat pressed her short fur closer to Bearclaw, who blushed at this.

**...**

So they split up and began their search. First, Ashfeather had gotten onto Archie, scouring the ocean from the cliff. Archie took off and began flying around while Ashfeather looked around over the edge of the saddle. Noticing that there was no sign of Goldwing yet, the black tom spun Archie around to look for him some more.

Meanwhile, Silverheart and Echo had gone off to search for Goldwing in the nearest town on the island. Already, there was a crowd surrounding a cat in golden fur and cheering for "Goldwing" repeatedly. Silverheart and Echo exchanged very shocked looks, amazed to hear his name among FireClan and him being among them. So the two she-cats quickly ran to the crowd and broke a section apart to see if he was there.

But to their displeasure, it wasn't him. It was the actress of Goldwing from the play, cheering, "Avatar Cat State, yip yip!" and Actor Nightfoot was lifting her up in the air with his large head. The smaller cat and the large jaguar seemed to be entertaining the crowd, who cheered wildly.

This was enough for the two she-cats to feel their blood boil and their pelts bristle. How dare these cats make fun of their pack when the entire world was in danger?!

Meanwhile, Nightfoot, and Bearclaw were scouring the beach to find their friend. But Nightfoot really wasn't searching; instead, she wanted to tell Bearclaw about how her life went. Ignoring the rolling of his amber eyes, she talked on anyways.

"And then when I was five moons old, I ran away again," Nightfoot was telling him.

"Uh-huh," Bearclaw grunted, sniffing the air some more.

Taking that as an urging to go on, Nightfoot continued, "I know I shouldn't complain; I mean, my parents gave me everything I ever asked for. But they never gave me the one thing that I really wanted: their love. You know what I mean?"

Just then, Bearclaw turned around, and Nightfoot sensed that he was exasperated. "Look, I know you had a rough kithood, and I feel bad, but we should really be focusing on finding Goldwing."

At that, he stalked away from her, sniffing some more. Nightfoot glared up at two birds of paradise courting and sighed, looking down.

"Worst. Field-trip. Ever," she muttered, blowing her head fur away in irritation.

**...**

Later, almost all of them had come back to Darkstar's beach house, having reported on what they had...or had not found. Now with nothing else to do, they ended up sitting on the steps sadly. Silverheart and Nightfoot were back in their respective colors: silver tabby and black. Just then, Archie landed on the ground before them and made a low growl.

"Judging by the looks on your faces, I suppose you didn't find Goldwing either," Ashfeather meowed, leaping down to greet them. He was back in his regular dark gray tabby fur color.

"No," Bearclaw reported. "It's like he just...disappeared into thin air."

Suddenly, Nightfoot sat up. "Hey, wait a minute. Has anyone seen that Tobi's missing too?"

Ashfeather spun to face her in horror. "Oh shit, no! I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened! _ARCHIE ATE TOBI_!" Then he lifted Archie's jaws up to peer into his mouth, leaping onto his long tongue and trying to crawl his way inside. "Don't worry, Tobi! I'm coming for you, little pal!"

"Archie didn't eat him," Silverheart told him calmly. "He's probably with Goldwing."

"That's just what he wants you to think!" Ashfeather hissed at his sister, sticking his head out to look at her. Then he climbed even further in, and Archie closed his mouth around Ashfeather's tail as it began to flail like a worm.

"Get out of the dragon's mouth," Bearclaw barked at him, not pleased with this. "We have a real problem on our paws here. Goldwing is nowhere to be found and the Shadow Meteor will be here in only two days away."

Silverheart turned to him, asking, "So what should we do, Bearclaw?" Behind her, Ashfeather slid out of Archie's mouth, his entire body covered in dragon saliva.

Bearclaw muttered, "I don't know." But when they all looked at him with knowing looks, he looked around and asked, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Well, you ARE kinda the expert on tracking Goldwing," Silverheart meowed, but there was no accusation in her voice.

"Yeah, if anyone knows how to hunt the Avatar Cat, it's you," Nightfoot added. Ashfeather was trying to dry himself off, but he slipped on the ground with a very loud groan.

That was true. When he had been scarred by his own father, he had been given the task to find and capture Goldwing to get his honor back. So he had spent two years trying to find him until the past leaf-bare, when he had hunted him and his friends down. Some of that was by luck, but other...he have had to hire others to help him.

_Wait a minute...hire? _His brain worked even more as the word rang through his mind. He could remember the pirate cats that he hired to attack Silverheart and blackmail them with a special book. He could even recall April the bounty hunter to track down their scent and...

_Scent? That's it!_

So at dusk, after they packed everything up, they got onto Archie and took off. The Asian Lung Dragon was flying swiftly towards some dark clouds; perhaps a storm was on the way. Bearclaw could sense that the other cats were watching him with suspicion, but they would soon find out what he was doing.

"I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but why're we heading to EarthClan?" Ashfeather asked. "There's no way Goldwing could be there."

"Just trust me," was all he replied. Then he told Archie, "Yip yip."

Archie picked up the pace, soared into the horizon, and growled.

Finally, as they made it to EarthClan, they arrived at a building in the middle of a forested area. Bearclaw remembered coming to this place...and insulting the cats here. He was glad he had learned to curb his temper, for if he didn't, he would be dead by now. With a flick of his tail to let them know it was fine, he led the way inside.

Bearclaw looked around the crowded and noisy bar as dancing music was being played. Some patrons were gasping in shock and staring at them, seeming to look like a pack of misfits than warriors.

"The reason you brought us to a dingy EarthClan bar is why?" Silverheart asked, looking warily around the bar. Several toms wolf-whistled at her and Echo, but they ignored them.

Looking around, Bearclaw spotted the cat and pointed at it. "There she is. April."

April was indeed sitting flippantly and lapping at some wine as a huge burly ginger cat lunged as her. Quickly, the black-&-white she-cat stopped him by nudging him hard in the ribs with her shoulder, making him drop and groan in pain. The crowd gasped and was stunned while April just grinned at her success.

"Oh, that's that weird bounty hunter with the giant mole," Ashfeather meowed. "She came at us after we and Goldwing had a fight."

"Mole? I don't see one on her," Echo meowed, frowning. "Damn, her fur looks perfect."

Ashfeather shook his head. "No, it's not that. She had this giant wolf mole creature thing she rode around on."

April was quickly getting off her seat as another opponent (a gorilla-like orange cat) smashed his forelegs into her bench, breaking it into pieces. The previous opponent quickly scrambled away in time as the gorilla cat took a shot.

"Yep," Bearclaw answered the question. "That's her Shirshu. It's the only animal that can track Goldwing's scent anywhere in the world. It's our only shot we have of finding him."

Back at the fight, the gorilla cat tried to throw claw swipes at April. It narrowly missed her wine cup as she threw it up into the air, making it spin around. Now April looked annoyed with her foe as she grabbed his neck and hurled him away from her. The patrons in the corner of the bar widened their eyes and scrambled away before the gorilla cat landed on the table a second later, knocking off all the dishes on the table. Finally, April leapt into the air and grabbed her falling wine cup without spilling any of its contents, setting it down and lapping up the wine.

Bearclaw had to admire the power of this she-cat. Not only was she beautiful and a good tracker, but she was also one tough fighter. She was their only hope in finding Goldwing before the arrival of the Shadow Meteor.

"I don't know who this April cat is or what she looks like, but I like her already!" Nightfoot purred.

**...**

It was the big day as Frostfire waited at the royal plaza in FireClan. There was a ship docked near the port, and some groups were seen on both sides of the red carpet. FireClan cats of all colors, shapes, sizes, and ages were bowing down to a palanquin passing by with a shadow of a cat inside. Frostfire knew that her father was in there, currently awaiting to tell his warriors to go ahead and move out.

_This is it! _she thought with sadistic glee. _The day we invade and destroy EarthClan!_

Frostfire twitched her tail as she leapt into another palanquin not far behind. She sat quietly in there, feeling impatient and looking to the side. Ever since Rose and Aya had betrayed her in the Boiling Island, she felt her mind collapsing each day. Morning after morning, it gnawed at the core of her being; it was also like an itch: deep, persistent, profound.

"Come on, you slow slugs!" she spat at the cats carrying her palanquin. "Faster! Faster!"

The palanquin bearers picked up the pace, but they were visibly struggling with the weight. Yet Frostfire did not care; it was their duty to serve Darkstar and his family. If they wanted to whine and such, then they would have to go back to the nursery.

Now the palanquin was traveling to the port at a very fast speed. Darkstar's palanquin had come to a halt as a servant held the veil aside to let his leader out. The big dark brown tabby tom leapt out of there and started walking past a line of elite FireBenders. He padded up the steps, leaving the plaza behind him and Frostfire scurrying after him.

"Sorry I'm late, Father," Frostfire meowed, bowing low to the ground. She looked to the side, spitting menacingly, "Good palanquin bearers are so hard to buy these days. So is everything ready for our parting?"

"Yes," Darkstar meowed, not turning around to see her. "But Frostfire...there appears to have been a change of plans."

Frostfire quickly turned to her father, confused. "What? What did you say?"

Darkstar did not turn around. "I've decided to lead the fleet of airships to BoulderClan alone. In the meantime, you shall remain here in FireClan."

This made Frostfire's bloodshot yellow eyes widen when she heard this. This was supposed to be part of her plan, destroying EarthClan with Darkstar! And now he was forcing her to stay here in FireClan? Only cowards would stay behind while their leader went into battle!

"B-But...no!" Her voice rose to a whine, sounding like a spoiled kit. "I thought we were going to do this together!"

"My decision is _final_," Darkstar insisted.

Frostfire's ears flattened in shock and disappointment. There was no way he could leave her behind like this! Standing up with her face scrunching up in anger, she spat, "You...you can't treat me like this! You can't treat me like that traitor Bearclaw!"

Darkstar did not turn around, but he frowned. "Be silent, Frostfire."

"But it was my idea to burn everything to the ground!" Frostfire whined even more. "I deserve to be by your side as your deputy!"

"SILENCE!" Darkstar roared, turning to her and slapping her cheek hard with his voice raised. So Frostfire closed her eyes and lowered her head in obedience, the sting of the slap hard on her cheek. They were now standing on a giant red, golden, and black tiger statue surrounded by Fire Elder Sages and warriors, armor on a platform in front of them.

Seeing this, Darkstar went on more softly, "Listen to me, Frostfire, my brave warrior. I need you here to watch over the camp. It's a very important job that I can only entrust to you."

Frostfire looked up, surprised to hear this. "Really?"

"Yes. And for your loyalty to me and the Clan..." Darkstar went on, "...I've decided to declare you the new leader of FireClan."

"Really?!" Frostfire repeated, more surprised. Her father was going to make her the new leader of the Clan? She nodded a bit happily as she purred, "I can see it now...Froststar, leader of the great FireClan. It has a nice ring around it. But what about you, Father?"

Darkstar let the elders put on golden tiger shoulder armor on him while a tiger helmet was now placed on his head. "For one thing, do not call me Darkstar. For Darkstar, leader of FireClan, is no more. Just as the tiger leaps through the most scorching flames, I too shall spring through as the supreme ruler of the world! I shall even spring to the heavens and bring StarClan to an end. And from now on, I will be known as...the Tiger Lord!"

A large black-&-scarlet tiger motif banner was raised behind him. The line of FireBenders was holding the normal red royal banners as another group of FireBenders in front of them brought up the new black-&-scarlet Tiger Lord banners, the other side doing the same. Two FireBenders poised beside a giant urn at the bottom of a pillar Bended their fire into two openings at the side of the urn, and fire lit up at the top.

All the cats of FireClan gaped in awe before bowing low. The pillars on each side of the banner lit up to resemble the head of a roaring tiger, the animal that gave their ancestor Tigerstar his name. Darkstar was now in his full tiger armor as he let out a piercing yowl, a yowl evil enough to pierce the heavens above. And to his glory, they all chanted his new title.

"Tiger Lord! Tiger Lord! Tiger Lord!"

**...**

_Night_

_And the spirit of life_

_Calling (oh oh iyo)_

_Mamela (Oh oh iyo)_

The pecking on his face made Goldwing groan and sit up, rubbing his head. He had a weird dream that night: he dreamt that he was swimming in the ocean to StarClan knew where. The golden Avatar Cat saw Tobi in front of him, the hawk staring intensely at him.

"Hey Tobi," he groaned. "I just had the strangest dream...I dreamed I was..."

But he stopped as he opened his eyes, surprised by his surroundings. He turned his head towards the ocean and muttered, "Wait..."

This place did not look anything like the jungles of FireClan. Instead, the sand here was a perfect sandy brown instead of smoky black, and there were animals that glistened strangely like stars. Goldwing had never seen a place like this before; not even Goldenstripe, his mentor when he was not frozen yet, did not tell him about this. It was the strangest place he had been to so far.

_Where are we?_

_And a voice_

_Just the fear of a child_

_Answers (Oh oh iyo)_

_Mamela (Oh oh iyo)_

_**(To be continued...)**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Well, here we go, folks! The first part of the grand finale is done! Fifty-eight episodes down, three more to go!**

**Aang: This series has been really great, Avatar Cat!**

**Katara: I know. It's been nearly three years since you started the series, though it WILL be three in April. But Avatar Cat... (She and Aang hug him) ...we're so proud of you.**

**AvatarCat12: (Hugs them back) Thanks, guys...and the other too. So who wants to say the review thing and the preview for The Elder Warriors?**

**Aang: I will. (To the readers) Hey, remember to read and review! Those who do will get a virtual plush doll or figurine of your favorite ATLA character in their cat form. We don't allow flames, but we allow advice and constructive criticism.**

**Preview: Bearclaw and AvatarClan have to put their trust in the bounty hunter April to find Goldwing. And if she failed, then Bearclaw would know who to find next to help them. Meanwhile, Goldwing begins to explore the island, where he encounters familiar cats who tell him about what to do in the final battle. Will one cat listen to his side of the story?**

**All three: See ya next time!**


	19. The Elder Warriors

**AvatarCat12: This is the second part of the Shadow Meteor. Right now, Aang and Katara aren't here, for they're off watching the Avatar Cat version of the series finale. But they'll be back soon.**

**So we're finally getting somewhere with this finale. I remember when I made this series in April of 2010; that had been a LONG while. In the end, though, I'll be happy to be done with this series...for now. But anyways, sorry I don't have much to say after this. Let's just go on with the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats. Me...I don't. And the song He Lives In You (the Broadway version) belongs to The Lion King on Broadway. Plus, a very certain scene on here belongs to the Lion King also; I'm sure you'll know what it is.  
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**Summary: ****Bearclaw and AvatarClan have to put their trust in the bounty hunter April to find Goldwing. And if she failed, then Bearclaw would know who to find next to help them. Meanwhile, Goldwing begins to explore the island, where he encounters familiar cats who tell him about what to do in the final battle. Will one cat listen to his side of the story?**

**Uploading Date: December 10, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Shadow Meteor: The Elder Warriors**_

They had found the right cat. They had found April the bounty hunter, the one chance they got to find Goldwing. The black-&-white she-cat was leaping onto the table for a better way to sit and continued lapping up some wine.

"NOW I clearly remember her," Ashfeather meowed with a glare. "She helped you attack us, Bearclaw!"

Bearclaw chuckled nervously at what he said. He remembered the pains of being stung by the Shirshu's tongue on his skin. But all he said was, "Yep...back in the good ol' days."

Now April was getting a refill, and Bearclaw seized the chance to speak with her. Flicking his ears to the table, he padded over to the table, the other four cats following him. When April spotted him coming, her amber eyes narrowed.

"Well, if it isn't Prince Pouty," she taunted coolly. "Where's your weird grandpa?"

"He's actually my uncle, and he's not here," the dark tabby told her. "And it's been a while since we met, April."

April just shrugged and looked between him and Silverheart, who had padded up to join him. With a smirk, she added, "Good to see you worked things out with your mate. She's looking hotter than before, eh?"

Both cats blushed hard with shock on their faces and protested at the same time, Silverheart saying "I'm not his mate!" and Bearclaw saying "She's not my mate!" Bearclaw knew they were both friends, but he was not and would never fall in love with her...ever.

"Okay, okay, sheesh," the bounty hunter meowed, rolling her eyes. "I was only ruffling your whiskers. So what the hell you want now?"

"I need your help finding the Avatar Cat," Bearclaw told her right away.

To his anger, April turned away, drinking some more whine. "Hmm...doesn't sound fun to me."

Hearing this, Bearclaw felt his blood boil at her unruffled attitude. How could she not take this as seriously as they? So he stepped forth and hissed, "Does the end of the world and its Clans sound like fun to you?"

April turned around to look at him, her amber eyes narrowed. Bearclaw could tell that she was thinking this over: either help them find Goldwing or sit back and watch FireClan destroy the world. Finally, having made up her mind, she pushed her wine cup back, dropped a sack of gold on the table, and leapt down from her seat. She padded out the door, the other cats following her and finding a familiar sight outside.

Archie and the Shirshu were growling aggressively at each other; Bearclaw remembered seeing them battle moons ago, and that was the only time Bearclaw saw the former fight. Archie then gave a grunt and licked the Shirshu's face, making both of them quiet down. With a meow, April held up a rabbit and caught the Shirshu's attention, the wolf-like animal turning to face her.

"Nala...come get the treat, you loveable thing," she called, throwing the meat to it. "Nala" raced over to her, caught the rabbit, and swallowed it in one gulp. April padded forth to stroke her pet affectionately, purring, "Who's my little snuffle wuffle? You're my snuffle wuffle!"

Nala suddenly shot out her tongue, but April managed to step back and caress her Shirshu's nose. "Careful...okay, whose got something with the Avatar Cat's scent on it?"

"We got Goldwing's staff," Silverheart meowed, fetching the staff from Archie's saddle.

April accepted the staff and held it out for Nala to sniff it out. Nala lifted her head and sniffed them over, circling around them. Bearclaw knew that the Shirshu was trying to find the right scent...but he got a bit more worried as the sniffing began to die down. Finally, Nala made one last round before walking back in front of April, lowering herself on the ground, and rubbing her snout with her paws.

Bearclaw looked back at April. "Well, what does that mean?"

The black-&-white she-cat looked into her pet's eyes before looking back up at them. "It means your friend's gone."

"We know he's gone. That's why we're trying to find him," Nightfoot snapped.

"No," April retorted. "I mean that he's really _gone_. He doesn't exist."

_He doesn't exist?_ Bearclaw shared puzzled and confused looks with the others. _How could Goldwing not exist in the world after he vanished?_

**...**

Tobi flew up immediately at a squirrel trying to crack open a nut on a branch, causing it to drop its nut in fright. Goldwing was padding along the jungle path below, amazed at the strange new surroundings they were in. The sun was shining down through the canopy, hummingbirds were buzzing around flowers, and a honey badger had just emerged from a fallen log.

One thing was for sure, though: this was not an ordinary jungle.

Goldwing leapt onto the fallen log, meowing, "Where are we? Maybe we're in StarClan. No, wait..." Tobias had landed on the ground with tufts of squirrel fur on his talons. "You can see me...and we're probably in StarClan together."

He recalled another clue that let him know he was in StarClan: living cats could not Bend in this territory. So he lifted his tail and whisked it around, expecting no air to come around at all. But to his surprise, air whipped up from it and blew the leaves around a bit.

"Huh. Looks like my Bending still works," he remarked. Tobi landed on his shoulder and gave him a look as if to shrug. Looking up at the slope of a hill, he meowed, "Maybe if we climb to the top of the island we could figure out where we are."

_Wait_

_There's no mountain too great_

_Hear these words and have faith (Oh oh iyo)_

_Oh oh iyo_

_Have faith_

**...**

"What the hell do you mean Goldwing doesn't exist?!" Ashfeather yelped, looking irritated. "Do you mean he's...you know...dead?"

Bearclaw glared around at the dark gray tabby tom. However, even though he didn't want to think about it, he was afraid that it might be true.

April leapt back up onto Nala's back. "Nope, we could find him if he were dead. It's a real head scratcher." She steered Nala away and called over her shoulder, "See you later."

At that, she and Nala began to walk away from them. Bearclaw was disappointed that Goldwing could not be found...but suddenly, he had an idea on who to find. Just as Nightfoot muttered a sarcastic "Helpful, REALLY helpful", he turned to the rest of the cats.

"Wait a moment," he meowed. "I have another idea. There's one other cat in the Clans who can help us defeat Darkstar. Just wait right here. I'll be back with a scent sample!" he called over to April, who had spun back around to face him.

So he leapt up into Archie's saddle and reached into his bag...while using a cloth for some certain protection. Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled the object out: a red collar that had a moldy-green tinge to it. The other cats were recoiling and curling their noses at the stench, but Nightfoot didn't look bothered.

"You saved your uncle's smelly collar?" Ashfeather asked in disgust.

"I think it's kinda sweet of him," Nightfoot purred. But she quickly quieted down as Nala began sniffing the collar before giving a loud growl.

April nodded from the saddle. "Now we can find this scent good. Let's roll."

At that, the Shirshu leapt away into the trees, leaving Bearclaw to yowl after then. Not wanting to get left behind, they quickly mounted Archie as he lifted his tail up and took off into the air. They managed to find April and Nala easily, for the Shirshu's brown pelt was visible among the darkness of the forest canopy. Those two were moving so fast that Bearclaw was surprised that they weren't cheetahs.

They raced over terraced flatland as Nala rapidly ran down the terraces. Archie followed her best he could, flying past what looked like tree houses in the forests of EarthClan. Over and over again, Nala would stop and sniff around, trying to find a trace of a scent. It seemed that she was getting somewhere, for she let out a screech and went on again.

Finally, they had arrived at their destination, and this made Bearclaw surprised. They had come to the partially destroyed outer wall of BoulderClan at night. As soon as Archie landed, Nala stepped forth and began scratching at the rubble, sniffing a bit and letting her long venomous tongue flick out every so often. This confused the cats even further.

"Wait a minute," Bearclaw meowed, watching Nala scratch the remains of the great wall. "We're going to BoulderClan?"

"Your uncle's somewhere beyond the wall," April meowed as Nala stopped scratching the rubble and turned away. "Nala's getting fidgety, so he can't be too far away. Good luck, you guys. May this...StarClan or whatever you Clan cats call it...light your path."

At this, the black-&-white bounty hunter pulled on her Shirshu's reins, and Nala raced off into the night. Bearclaw looked after them, slightly disappointed that they couldn't help them any further. But still...they were somewhere near Irontail's location wherever it was at.

"It's been a long day, everyone," the dark tabby told the other cats. "We better set up camp and start our search again at dawn."

**...**

It took quite a while for Goldwing to climb up the small hill, for he had to leap over a few rabbit holes. He hadn't eaten anything since dusk the other day, and he managed to catch a rabbit to snack on. Surprisingly, the prey here was easy to catch, and he was surprised that cats weren't living on this island. When he reached the top of the hill, he saw something strange.

It appeared to be a flower pattern on the ground, opening up like it was greeting the warm sun. But a closer look told Goldwing that it was not really a flower.

"It's a hexagon," he meowed, feeling the shape under his pads. "It doesn't seem like normal rock." He stood up and did an EarthBending movement, but nothing happened. "Huh. It's not made of earth."

He turned away, hanging his head and sighing, "This is so strange. I wish I had some help right now. I wish I had Whitestorm to...wait a moment!" he backtracked, an idea forming into his mind. "I DO have Whitestorm!"

_He could help me with this!_

So he sat down in the center of the hexagon and closed his eyes. He could imagine the white tom padding towards him in a blue cloud of smoke and stars, his golden eyes gleaming in the dark. But then...he felt something erupt from his chest, yet he did not feel any pain or smell any blood coming out of him. When he opened his eyes, he saw the cat who could help him with the hard dilemma he was facing.

It was Whitestorm. The FireClan cat was sitting across from him, twitching his whiskers. A blue aura-like mist was surrounding him like the clouds in the sky.

_He lives in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He lives in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He watches over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

"You're right," the white tom purred, smiling. "All the past Avatar Cats and all their wisdom are available to you if you look deep inside yourself."

Goldwing gave a meow of greetings before looking around the strange trees. "So where am I, Whitestorm? What is this place? Is this part of StarClan's territory?"

Whitestorm did the same. "I...have no idea. Not even StarClan can know every place. But I see that you are lost in more ways than one right now."

"I am." Now was the time for business. Goldwing wrapped his tail around his paws as he asked, "I need to figure out what to do once I fight Darkstar."

_Into the water (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Into the truth (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_He lives in you_

**...**

The group had settled down to sleep for the night, having chosen their sleeping spots. Bearclaw and Silverheart were sleeping on Archie's side with their backs facing each other. Ashfeather and Echo were sleeping on Archie's tail, the former snoring audibly. And Nightfoot had made herself an earth den to sleep in; after all, she was comfortable on the ground. Bearclaw woke up to look around at his comrades; they were getting closer to their goal.

Suddenly, Nightfoot sprang out of her den, looking worried and puzzling Bearclaw. Just then, the tent she was sleeping in EarthBended away, and a ring of fire circled the group, forcing them to wake up and yowl. A sudden yowl broke through the wailing, and all five cats looked up to see who had attacked them.

Four elderly cats were standing on a ledge before them, gazing down. Bearclaw recognized the tortoiseshell tabby tom: Shang Tsung, who had taught Ashfeather to use swords; in fact, Bearclaw himself had been Shang's pupil too. The other three were strangers to him: a ginger tom with a stripe on his face and yellow eyes, a pale gray tom with white flecks and blue eyes, and an ancient iron-gray tom with one green eye and one crooked orange eye.

"Well, look who's here," the iron-gray tom meowed, snorting like a pig and laughing.

Silverheart and Ashfeather, who had originally appeared worried, smiled with relief as they gazed up at the old toms. Bearclaw, Echo, and Nightfoot gazed at the siblings, puzzled. Did the two of them know those old elders from somewhere?

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Everyone expects me to kill Darkstar," Goldwing explained to his former life. "...but I just don't know if I can do that. Besides, killing another cat for victory's against the Warrior Code, right?"

Whitestorm gazed back at him, a touch of sadness in his eyes. "In my life, I had tried my best to be self-controlled and show restraint. But it backfired when Shadowstar took advantage of my restraint and forgiveness. If I had been more resolute and acted ever sooner, I could have stopped Shadowstar, stopped the war before it started, and saved AirClan. But now...I offer you this piece of advice, Goldwing. You must be resolute."

At that, Whitestorm vanished before his eyes, leaving a confused Goldwing. What did he mean by being resolute? Did that mean that Whitestorm agreed with his friends in killing Darkstar? He wished the War had not happened in the first place; that way, he would not face against this very troubling decision.

**...**

Bearclaw gazed around at the elders, who had climbed down the rubble to stand before them. Around their necks were golden collars with a picture of the phoenix spreading its wings on them. For a moment, he wondered if this was the order Irontail had talked so much about. It couldn't be...but here was some proof that they were the ones.

"What the hell is going on here?" Nightfoot demanded, her eyes narrowed. "We're surrounded by old cats."

"Not just any old cats, Nightfoot. These are great masters and friends of ours," Silverheart told her, padding towards the masters. She bowed her head to the pale gray tom and meowed to him, "Greetings, Snowstorm."

Snowstorm bowed to her. "Greetings in return, Silverheart. It is respectful to bow to an old master; that is how young warrior cats show their respect. But...how about a hug for your new grandfather?" he added with a smile.

Silverheart's expression turned to one of complete surprise while Ashfeather looked just as dumbfounded as his sister. Bearclaw wondered what would happen next...then he saw the former's face turn from confusion to happiness.

The silver tabby rushed forth to hug him, purring, "This is amazing! You and Grandma must be so happy to have found each other again! I'm so happy for the both of you!"

"I made her a new betrothal necklace and everything," Snowstorm purred. "And you're right. We are happy to be together again...willingly this time."

"Welcome to the family, Grandpa!" Ashfeather purred, comically coming over to them and throwing them both into a big hug.

Snowstorm didn't look that amused as he pushed him away. "You can still call me Snowstorm."

Ashfeather grinned goofily. "Okay. Well, how about Grand Snowstorm?"

"...no."

This made the dark gray tabby tom sigh in disappointment, "...shit."

"And this is Goldwing's first FireBending mentor," Silverheart went on, flicking her tail to the ginger tom. Bearclaw padded forth and dipped his head to him, which he returned.

"Hayato. It is my name," the tom meowed with a small smile. "And the cat at the head of this patrol is Rockstar of MudClan."

Bearclaw murmured a greetings before turning to see Ashfeather pad to Shang Tsung and bow to him. "Greetings, Master Tsung."

"Hello to you too," the tortoiseshell replied, smiling and bowing too.

Among all these greetings, Echo spoke up, "Wait, how do you all know each other?"

"All elders know each other, don't you know that?" Rockstar snorted and cackled.

Shang Tsung smiled and nodded. "He's right. We're all part of the same ancient secret society. A group that transcends the divisions of the four Clans. A secret Clan that had existed since the dawn of the new Clans."

"The Order of the Phoenix," Bearclaw murmured, smiling. This was the secret pack Irontail had told him about for moons. Finally...they were seeing cats from the Order in the fur.

Rockstar nodded. "That's the one."

Hayato added, "The Order of the Phoenix has always been about philosophy, beauty, and truth. Just around a moon ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important. So we all came here in order to hear what he had to say."

Snowstorm turned to Bearclaw. "It came from a Grand Phoenix himself: your uncle, Irontail of FireClan. He is our leader here."

"Well, that's who we're looking for," Nightfoot meowed.

"Then we'll take you to him," Shang Tsung meowed as he and Snowstorm nodded.

"Wait!" Rockstar had pulled them apart and started sniffing and looking around warily. "There's someone missing from your group. Someone _very_ important...where's Tobi?" As he finished, he had pressed his face against Ashfeather's, who leaned back from the weight.

The latter meowed, "He's gone. And so is Goldwing."

Rockstar stayed where he was and patted Ashfeather's shoulder while the younger cat tried to stay up. "Oh well, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about so long as they have each other. Now let's go."

At this, he slammed his paws against the ground, EarthBended a very tall column of earth, and propelled himself over the gap in the outer wall, laughing crazily at the same time. The others watched him sail over the wall, Bearclaw staring in confusion after the cackling tom. Goldwing must have had a weird taste for friends if he and this crazy old fox were still friends.

But none of that mattered now. Instead, a single thought came into his mind: _We're here, Uncle. We're here with the Order._

**...**

Night had now fallen over the strange and mysterious island. Owls were out on their nightly hunt while chital deer had come out to graze on any foliage. Tobi looked up at a barn owl holding an extra mouse in its talons while eating one and flew off to intercept it. When Goldwing looked back up, Tobi had already gotten half of the mouse, a small scratch on his face.

"Heavyrose, I need your wisdom," he prayed, closing his eyes.

Tobi scooted over to the side to avoid whatever was going to come next. As before, he felt a spirit pass through him and come out from his chest, once again not feeling the pain. When he opened his eyes, there was Heavyrose herself, this time as big as the biggest badger. He guessed this was a unique ability of hers: to grow or shrink to whatever size.

Goldwing bowed to the large tortoiseshell-&-white cat, meowing, "Greetings, Heavyrose. You know what I'm about to ask, right?"

"Yes, I know." Heavyrose meowed. "In my day, Battlestar the Great had threatened to throw the world out of balance. I stopped him in time, and the world entered a great period of peace after that."

"But you didn't really kill Battlestar," Goldwing reminded her, recalling when he had to be put on trial. "He fell to his own doom because he was too persistent to get out of the way. All he wanted to do was fight."

Heavyrose shrugged. "In my opinion, I don't really see the difference. But I assure you, I would have done whatever it took to _stop_ Battlestar from rising again. I offer you this wisdom, young Goldwing," she went on, slowly starting to vanish. "Only justice will bring peace."

Finally, after this, she vanished in a swirl of stars. Goldwing watched her go before looking to the side, annoyed with all of this. Once again, here was an Avatar Cat expecting him to go ahead and kill a cat to save them all.

"I knew I shouldn't have asked Heavyrose," he muttered to himself.

**...**

"Hey Rockstar?" Ashfeather asked while the elders led them to their camp down a trail. "How did you escape your captivity in MudClan?"

"Escape? I didn't escape...everybody else did!" he cackled. "There I was, back in my city of MudClan, waiting for _just_ the right moment to strike. Back in my coffin, I didn't know what or when, but I knew I'd know it when I knew it. Just then, I saw the eclipse itself coming over the statue of Darkstar they planted in town. _An eclipse,_ I thought. _That would do it._

"'So I took a deep breath and struggled with all my might, knowing that my associates and Clan needed me badly. The structure I was under began to crack and break, and some of the bricks and roof tiles start to fly towards my coffin. Thanks to my solid body, I was able to endure the bits of debris that broke open the coffin door on contact. Finally free, I leapt out to encounter none other than five FireClan cats ready to fight.

"'What do you think you're doing?' one of them spat at me.

"This tabby swiped his claws out at me...but believe it or not, nothing happened. He looked at his claws curiously, and he and the rest of his group repeated the same old move, but still, nothing happened. At first, I was confused as heck; I mean, why would their attack stop working all of a sudden? But then it hit me: the eclipse!

"I grinned and meowed, 'What am I doing, you ask, young'un? Why, I'm taking back my city. You've got no fire power...and it's payback time!'

"So I ran off and started causing Hell for FireClan in the city to take it back. One example was riding a small wave of earth and by passing the line of soldiers. I propelled myself off the edge and landed down in the city as I raised my tail up, ready for battle. I Bended a tall column of earth behind me and hurled it at a building built into the city through metal piping, the pillar of earth piercing through the pipes. Now that the building was totally under my control, I could do anything I wanted with it...so I took it away.

"Warriors were running away as I took control of another building with smoke still coming out from the chimney behind the slides. Satisfied with this work, I made it start slowly sliding down and hitting another similar building. I ran away and EarthBended more FireClan houses away; don't worry, 'cause I didn't hurt any kits. With pride in my heart, I watched as FireClan had no choice but to evacuate the city.

"Then I turned my attention to the statue of Darkstar perched right at the top of MudClan. This was to show him that MudClan was being liberated. Eight warriors leapt at me, but I Bended the same number of columns of earth from the ground, which knocked the warriors off their paws and banged their heads on the ground. It was time for some more work to be done.

"So I sent the columns of earth towards Darkstar's statue and watched them pierce both the statue's eyes. I made two more columns fly forth and pierce the nostrils and the remaining chunks line across his mouth like a smile. Finally, with all my strength, I managed to lift the entire thing from the ground, struggling under the weight. Then I sent the statue tipping over the edge and sliding down the city. As the remaining warriors evacuate from the city, Darkstar's statue slid and crashed through the city's entrance, the bridge and finally falling down into the depths outside the city.

"I had done it. I had liberated my city...it was all me. I looked down at the disappearing statue and gave a laugh, biting off a piece of green genemite crystal to celebrate this victory. So what'd you think of that, youngsters?"

Bearclaw was amazed by this. What a powerful friend Goldwing had! This cat besides Nightfoot must have been the strongest EarthBender he had ever heard of in his life. He bet that he must be a quasi-Avatar Cat who could have beaten Darkstar...even if he looked too old to do it. Beside him, the others looked just as amazed as he.

"Wow...you took back your whole city all by yourself!" Echo purred in awe. "That must've been so amazing to see!"

Rockstar nodded. "Yes...that was an amazing day. So what about you young'uns? Did you do anything interesting on the day of the eclipse?"

Bearclaw and Ashfeather shared looks before they looked away. The former had heard of how the invasion went for the rebelling side: they had lost that battle. As for he himself, he had been confronting Darkstar over how he had treated him all those moons. That was also the day he left his home to fight alongside AvatarClan.

"...nope," he finally meowed.

"No, not really," Ashfeather added.

And to their relief, Rockstar did not press more into the matter.

**...**

After some more thinking, Goldwing opened his eyes. There had been no other Avatar Cats he knew beyond Heavyrose except for the AirClan Avatar Cats before him.

"I need to look deep inside myself," he finally told himself.

So he sat down, closed his eyes again, and meditated, seeing a vision of an unknown cat padding out of the mist. Once again, he felt a StarClan warrior pass out of him, and he opened his eyes to see another cat standing before him. This cat was a complete stranger to him, a dark gray tom with dark green eyes and the pelt of a polar bear over his own fur.

"I am Avatar Cat Stormfrost," the dark gray tom meowed. "When I was a younger cat, I was always an laid-back Avatar Cat. Cats seemed to work out their own problems, and peace and good times ruled the world. But then, I lost the she-cat I loved to Hok, the Face Catcher...and on the day of our grand marriage too. It was my fault, for if I had been more alert and more active, I could have saved her." His voice cracked when he said this, and it made Goldwing feel sorry that he never got to spend more time with his made.

Like Heavyrose, Stormfrost started to vanish under a swirl of stars, meowing, "Goldwing, you must actively shape your own destiny and the destiny of the world."

And he vanished.

This made Goldwing worry even more. Like Whitestorm and Heavyrose before him, Stormfrost had told him in some way that he would have to kill to end the war. He lowered his head onto his forepaws, trying to block out the unpleasantness.

_Great StarClan, what next? Please give me the right answers!_

**...**

The inner walls of the overtaken BoulderClan were more packed than they thought. White tents were everywhere, and there was a large wall of stone to shelter them from intruders. Bearclaw gazed around the camp, trying to find his uncle among the cats guarding the area. At first, some of the warriors were wary of the younger cats, but after some reassurance from the four elders, they consented and stepped back.

So Rockstar Bended down the wall, letting them pad into the camp unchallenged. Around them, some warriors accepted them in a comradely fashion while others greeted them warily.

"Well, here we are," Rockstar purred at the head of the small patrol. "Welcome to elder camp."

Bearclaw looked around for a familiar flat face and gray tabby pelt. "Where...where is he?"

Shang Tsung flicked his long ears to a bigger tent. "Your uncle's in there, Bearclaw. Just take all the time you'd like."

Bearclaw stared on with disbelief and awkwardness. He had no idea what he would say to his uncle now that they were there. Irontail could be angry or unwilling to talk to him and refuse any apologies. So, taking a deep breath, he padded over to the tent, paused, and sat down, the moon shining down on his dark tabby fur.

"Bearclaw? Are you okay?"

He looked up in time to stare into Silverheart's dark blue eyes, which were filled with concern. Her silver tabby fur was glowing white in the moonlight, making her look like she was coming down from StarClan. But this wasn't the time to think of that.

"No, I'm not okay," Bearclaw sighed, turning away. Silverheart sat down next to him, but he did not want to chase her away. Instead, he rasped, "My uncle...I think he hates me...no, I KNOW it. He loved me and supported me in every way he could over these moons, and I still turned against him. Like a traitor. How can I even face him after all this?"

When he looked back, he saw that Silverheart did not scorn him like she did ages ago. Her face was still filled with sympathy as she meowed, "You're sorry for what you did, right?"

Bearclaw nodded. "Yes. More sorry than I've been about anything in my life."

"Then he'll forgive you," Silverheart told him with a small smile. "I know he will. You know what they say: let the past stay in the past. Now go on."

Bearclaw turned his head back towards the tent and thought for a while. Being the rousing cat she was, Silverheart was right. There was no use in worrying over if his uncle would forgive him for what he did. All he had to do was apologize for what he did to him all those moons ago. He turned back to Silverheart and mewed his thanks, licking her ear before padding inside the tent.

_Uncle...please know I'm here. I need to talk to you so badly._

A loud snore greeted him, and he turned to the side to see what it was. There he was: Irontail, snoozing soundly and snoring loudly in his nest. His plumed tail was resting over his flat nose, and his body (which looked more muscular instead of fat now) moved with the rhythm of the loud snoring.

Bearclaw smiled in affection and sat down on the mat beside Irontail's nest.

**...**

Goldwing looked over at Tobi, hoping to find someone or something to talk to. Goldenstripe had taught him that if he talked with another animal, he would feel better about a problem. Right now, Tobi was the only animal on the island he could trust.

"All these past Avatar Cats keep telling me I'm gonna have to do it. They don't get it," he sighed. Tobi let out a small caw, which made Goldwing smile down at him. "You're right, Tobi. Maybe an AirClan Avatar Cat would understand where I'm coming from. I know you can't really talk, but pretending you can helps me think."

So he sat back down and closed his eyes, trying to find the next Avatar Cat to speak with. Just beside him, Tobi made a loud caw, which made Goldwing open his eyes and glare over at him. Whatever his hawk said, he did not like it.

"Whatever you said, Tobi, I'm going to pretend I didn't pretend to hear that," he muttered, closing his eyes once again.

As he meditated, he could see another shadow of a cat walk towards him, preparing this time for what was to happen next. He felt a cloud of smoke pass through him once again, and when he opened his eyes, another cat appeared from the white-blue cloud of smoke in front of him. Eager to greet this life, he sat up all the way and tried to look as formal as he could but failing to do so.

Tobi gave a caw and flew away, but Goldwing didn't flee. He had heard of this Avatar Cat from the elders of his Clan. This had to be Birdwing, a brown-&-white she-cat with the same white arrow stripes and blue eyes. The she-cat was nodding to him in the respectful air of an AirClan warrior cat.

"I am Avatar Cat Birdwing," the she-cat meowed, lifting her head up. "It is an honor to meet you, young AirBender."

"Birdwing!" Goldwing purred, dipping his head to her. "The monks taught me that all life is sacred. Even the life of the tiniest spider that spins its own web."

The brown-&-white she-cat nodded reluctantly. "Yes, all life is sacred. Even your prey."

Goldwing purred, optimistic to see that someone finally shared his views. "I know, I even kill prey only to eat. I've always tried to solve my problems by being quick or clever, and I've only had to use violence for necessary defense, and I've _certainly never_ used it to kill another cat. For killing another cat to achieve victory is against the Warrior Code."

"Goldwing." Birdwing's voice made him stop. "I know you're a gentle spirit, and the monks of AirClan have taught you so well. But this isn't about you now...this is about the World." This little sentence here made him flinch; she seemed to be against him too.

"B-But the monks taught me to detach myself from the world so my spirit could be free," the young golden tom tried to reason.

Birdwing nodded. "Many great and wise cats have detached themselves from the world and have achieved spiritual enlightenment, but the Avatar Cat can never do it because your sole duty is _to_ the World. Here is my wisdom for you: selfless duty calls you to sacrifice your spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to save the Clans."

At that, she vanished.

Goldwing lowered his head and stalked away from the hexagon, leaping onto a log and looking up at the stars. How could StarClan themselves ask him to do this task? Did they really want him to abandon his beliefs and adopt another just to save the Clans from destruction? To comfort him, Tobi flew over to him and rubbed his wing against his shoulder. Goldwing looked around at him, thankful that someone was here with him.

"I guess I don't have a choice anymore, Tobi," Goldwing told his hawk, looking up again at the stars. "I have to kill Darkstar."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

It was finally morning, and Bearclaw was still sitting beside a snoring Irontail. He could not believe he had found his uncle at last...but at that moment, pure shame seeped through his bones. He had betrayed Irontail in BoulderClan like he did with Silverheart and even refused to talk to him a lot. Was he really angry with him and would even chase him away from here?

But he looked up as his uncle stopped snoring and started to get up, yawning and stretching. The gray tabby turned his head slightly and finally noticed his nephew...but he then turned his head back and did not say anything. Bearclaw tried his best to control his emotions, but they were now threatening to pour over like a dam fixing to burst.

"Uncle..." He closed his eyes as he choked on his words. Tears now starting to form, he tried again, "Uncle...I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me. But I want...I want you to know...I'm so...so sorry, Uncle." Tears now flowed down his face as he sobbed, "I-I'm so sorry and ashamed of what I did. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you, but I'll find a way...I promise."

_He lives in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He lives in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He watches over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

Suddenly, Irontail moved forth and pulled him into a fierce and warm hug. Bearclaw, shocked at this, looked over into his flat face, a gentle smile on his face and tears coming from his warm amber eyes.

The young tom rasped, "H-How can you forgive me so easily, Uncle? I thought you would be furious with me..."

"I was never furious with you, my nephew," Irontail rasped back. "Not ever. I was sad because I was afraid you had lost your way."

"But I DID lose my way," Bearclaw protested.

Irontail made him look up. "But you found it again. And you did it by yourself. And I am so happy you found your way here. I am so proud of you..." At this, he could not say anymore, for he pulled him into another heartwarming hug.

Bearclaw gave a small smile through the tears. "It wasn't that hard to find you, Uncle. You have a pretty strong scent."

_Into the water (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Into the truth (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_He lives in you_

The gray tabby tom gave a purr of amusement and pulled him closer. Bearclaw felt relief wash the bad stuff away from his heart. At last, his uncle had forgiven him...no, he was never angry at him for what he did. Together, nephew and uncle could stand together and defeat Darkstar for good...once and for all.

**...**

A squirrel scurried along a tree branch, sunlight shining through the canopy. Goldwing looked up at the little brown animal scurry away from Tobi, who was resting with his head under his wing on the nearest branch. White birds flew above him, and he gave a yawn and pushed himself off the ground, stretching. But then...

"Wait...is it just me or are those mountains getting bigger?"

Indeed they were. Mountains were suddenly appearing on the horizon, getting larger by the minute. Tobi took off as Goldwing leapt up and landed on top of the tallest tree, trying to find the mountains. His hawk flew over to him and landed on his lean shoulder. The AirClan tom turned his head back and looked towards the sea to see some churning currents on the surface of the water behind the forested area.

"They're not getting larger...they're getting closer." So he leapt down from the tree and ran through the jungle, yowling, "The whole island is moving!"

When he arrived at the shore, he saw a shadow under the water directly under the forested area. Goldwing took a deep breath and leapt into the water while Tobi landed on a nearby branch and looked down.

Remembering what Silverheart had taught him, Goldwing made a bubble of air around his head to make him breathe easily. He dove deeper down the dark shape in the water and, when he got near enough, looked up at the shape. A rumble vibrated in the water, and then he saw it: a giant fin creating a lot of bubbles. The swirl of bubble surged beneath the confused Goldwing as he felt the bubble around his head burst, so he swam up back, resurfacing with a gasp. He rubbed his eyes with his paws, and Tobi flew over him, letting out a cry.

"It's amazing!" he panted up to the hawk. "It's the biggest animal in the world! I gotta swim around and find its face!"

So as he held his breath, he dove back underwater. Tobi circled above the spot like a vulture, his eyes scanning the surface for fish_._

**...**

Finally, everyone in the camp had gathered. Bearclaw was happy to see everyone look so easy-looking and relaxed as they did peaceful things. Earlier, Nightfoot and Rockstar had startled everyone by having a fierce EarthBending duel, causing quite a ruckus. Ashfeather had been the one who let them fight, but he was only let off with a light scolding.

Now they were all having a peaceful breakfast. No enemies were around, but they had to add some sentries to keep a lookout just in case. Bearclaw sat with the others, just in between Nightfoot and Silverheart.

"Uncle, you're the only cat other than the Avatar Cat who can possibly beat Fatherstar," the young tabby meowed.

"You mean _Dark_star," Nightfoot mumbled through her mouthful of vole.

Bearclaw nodded."That's what I just said." And as Nightfoot shrugged and continued eating, he went on, "We need you to come with us and help us defeat him."

To his dismay, Irontail shook his head as he looked up from eating his mouse. "No, my will not turn out well."

"But you can beat him, and we'll be there to help," Bearclaw insisted, looking around at his small pack of friends.

"I COULD defeat Darkstar, and I don't know if I even could," the elder told him. "It will be the wrong way to end the war. History would just see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother just to grab power, a never-ending cycle of hatted. It would be like when Mudclaw of WindClan tried to take control of WindClan in the ancient Clans. So the only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar Cat to defeat Darkstar. It is his destiny."

Bearclaw tilted his head to the side. "And THEN would you come and take your rightful place on the throne? Would you become the next leader?"

Irontail turned to him. "No. Someone new must take the throne and rise up the ranks. An idealist with a pure heart and absolute honor would make a perfect leader of the Clan. It has to be you, Bearclaw. You must become the new leader of FireClan."

This took the younger cat's breath away. HE was to be the new leader of FireClan? According to the Warrior Code, only the deputy could become the leader after the leader died. But aside from that, he had made so many mistakes in his life, something he didn't consider leader material. And now Irontail was asking him to be the new leader?

"Unquestionable honor?" he repeated. "But I've made so many mistakes in my life."

"Yes, you have," Irontail agreed, nodding slowly. "You have struggled and suffered much, but you have always followed _your_ own path, your _own_ honor. And only you can restore FireClan's honor and Tigerstar's descendants."

Bearclaw looked down to think it over; his ancestor Bramblestar's name could be redeemed. So he meowed, "I'll try, Uncle."

"What about Goldwing? What if he doesn't come back?" Nightfoot asked.

Irontail looked around at them all. "The Shadow Meteor is arriving, and our destinies are upon us today. Goldwing will face Darkstar, and he will defeat him. When I was a kit, I had a vision that I would one day take over BoulderClan. But now...I see that my destiny is to take it _back_ from FireClan so that EarthClan can be free again."

"So that's why you gathered the members of the Phoenix!" Echo exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Irontail told her. Turning back to Bearclaw, he meowed, "My nephew, you must return to FireClan so that when Darkstar falls, you can assume the throne and restore peace and order. But be careful and very vigilant: Frostfire will be there like a prowling black tiger, waiting for you and looking for a new victim to devour."

Bearclaw nodded, having hoped that he could face his sister again. "I think I can handle her. I'll do my best, Uncle."

Irontail spoke up, startling him, "No, not alone. You'll need help in battling her. From what I've heard back home, Frostfire has become unstable and dangerous. So you have to take a friend along to help you along the way."

"You're right. Like you said before, she's a crazy bitch, and she needs to go down." Turning to one cat he could trust with his life, Bearclaw meowed, "Silverheart, how would you like to help me put Frostfire in her place?"

Silverheart stared at him in surprise before this was replaced by a warm smile. "It would be my pleasure...Bearstar."

Bearclaw nodded. "Don't call me that yet, though. After we face Frostfire, I will get my nine lives and my leader name. And after that...like my uncle said...I will restore FireClan's honor."

Irontail smiled at this as the others chanted the dark brown tabby tom's leader name, his own thoughts brewing. Silverheart seemed to support Bearclaw in this through thick and thin. For a brief moment, he wondered if she had become his nephew's mate over the past few moons. But the smile between them was rather of a gentle friendly smile in place of the loving one.

"What about us?" Ashfeather had spoken up. "What's our destiny today?"

"What do you think it is?" Irontail answered them with this question.

Ashfeather tilted his head back to think. "I think that...even though we don't know where Goldwing is, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet."

Nightfoot nodded, unsheathing her claws. "And that means when Goldwing DOES battle Darkstar, we'll be right there if he needs us."

Irontail nodded. This was one battle they could not afford to lose now.

Minutes later, they were seated on a saddle mounted onto a gigantic bloodhound. Echo and Nightfoot, who had climbed on board, looked a bit nervous about being on the back of a large dog. At the hound's paws, Ashfeather was being given final instructions by Shang Tsung. This made Bearclaw feel a bit better at fighting Frostfire; the others could have their own battle.

"Nothing runs faster over land or swims quicker than a giant bloodhound," Shang Tsung was telling Ashfeather, handing him a scroll as it opened. "The airship base is on a small island just off the coast of EarthClan. You should be able to intercept the fleet within a day's journey."

"Thank you, Master," Ashfeather replied, bowing as he rolled up the scroll.

Bearclaw purred at this as he and Silverheart were ready to set off on Archie. Irontail was sitting before them, flipping the Phoenix tile around like it was a coin and looking calm.

"So if I'm going to be the leader after the war is over, what will you do?" Bearclaw asked his uncle.

Irontail purred, "After I re-conquer BoulderClan, I shall re-conquer my cream shop and play Pai Sho every day!"

Both of them looked across at the others. Ashfeather, Echo, and Nightfoot looked back at them from the bloodhound's back, Ashfeather giving a nod. This was the day. The day when the war would be over, and peace would rule the land like it did before. That had happened in the old days, and it would happen again.

"Goodbye, Irontail!" Silverheart called from on Archie's saddle.

"Goodbye, everyone," Irontail meowed, lowering his head. Today, destiny is our friend. I know it. May StarClan light your path."

With a deep-pitched howl, the bloodhound turned around and took off, its long ears flapping against the wind. Archie slammed his tail against the ground and took off, watching the cats down on the ground. Bearclaw knew the final battle was arriving. This could be the last day he would see his uncle and his friends...and he hoped they did well in their battle too. StarClan would have to stay with them through this fight indeed.

_StarClan guide our paws!_

**...**

The unseen creature was still making its way towards the mountains. Goldwing popped his head out of the water to check if he was getting any nearer. When he saw he was, he paused and took a deep breath before diving under. He could see a bunch of intricate patterns on the creature's hide as he swam towards its body, leaving a trail of bubbles behind him.

Goldwing stopped in front of the creature's closed eye lid, looking around warily. Where did he see this kind of animal before? But suddenly, the eye lid opened behind him, and he spun around to face the eye. With a long fin, it went under a startled Goldwing and lifted him upwards by the fluke. This startled him so much that he tried to break free, but a sudden force kept him trapped in the water pressure.

Just then, he felt his head break through the surface, taking in a gulp of air that seemed to be like a kit taking its first gulp of milk. He looked up at the long head swiveling its eyes towards him, showing a mouthful of plate-like baleen. The blue animal was the reason this "island" was moving towards the mountains.

_It's a blue whale! But what's it doing here?_

But then, the whale gave a roar, and a shimmer of stars appeared on top of its head. And in the place of the disappearing stars...was a cat. It was a handsome ginger tom with bright emerald eyes, a tear in one ear, and a wise smile on his face. Goldwing's heart nearly stopped when he saw this cat; he had heard of this cat in many tales.

_He lives in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He lives in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He watches over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

"F-_Firestar_?"

The legendary ThunderClan cat nodded. "Goldwing...it is good to meet you at last. I am very proud to meet the Avatar Cat."

Goldwing bowed back. "You too. But...maybe you can help me. Everyone...even my own past lives...expect me to kill a cat." Firestar blinked his emerald green eyes, telling him to go on. "But...I don't know if I can do it. What can I do?"

"I understand how you feel," Firestar replied. His face got serious as he meowed on, "The true mind can survive all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can touch the poison of hatred without being harmed." He stepped forth, other cats appearing behind him, as he went on, "Ever since the dawn of time, darkness thrives in the void but always yields to purifying light. You are that light, Goldwing."

_Into the water (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Into the truth (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_He lives in you_

At that, he stepped forth and touched the center of Goldwing's head with his muzzle. The latter felt green light flow through his veins as he realized what he had just witnessed. This was a new attack, one that could defeat Darkstar without killing him. Seeing a cliff get nearer, Goldwing broke away from Firestar and leapt off from the blue whale, landing at the edge of the cliff. Tobi flew over to rest on his shoulder, looking around at the sky.

Suddenly, Firestar leapt onto the cliff, facing him with intensity and making Goldwing back away. "Goldwing...you have forgotten me over the past moons," he meowed, his voice filled with some sorrow.

"N-No," Goldwing rasped. "How could I? You're a legend among the Clans! As legendary as the Avatar Cat!"

"You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me," Firestar explained, his whiskers blowing in the wind. "Look into your heart, Goldwing. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Clans and the Circle of Life."

Goldwing stared down at his paws. "But how can I beat Darkstar by myself? I mean...I'll be fighting him alone."

_He lives in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He lives in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_He watches over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

Firestar meowed, "Goldwing, raise your head." When the younger cat did, the ginger tom gave him a gentle smile and went on, "Remember who you are. You are my descendant and the Avatar Cat of the world. StarClan will guide your paws through this final battle. You will never be alone as long as you have faith." He touched his ear with his nose and pulled back in time, finishing, "Now wait for him; he will come...and so will your time to shine."

Just then, the ginger tom leapt back and vanished, making the blue whale dive back into the ocean. Goldwing dipped his head to this cat, thankful of his legendary wisdom and advice. Noticing a sudden change in the wind, Goldwing shared a look with Tobi before noticing the nearest place to intercept Darkstar: the pillars of the Sky Forest. He let out a battle yowl and leapt away, Tobi following him by air.

As his paws carried him across the landscape, Goldwing felt Firestar's words ring through his ears. He could not believe it; he was Firestar's descendant, kin of the fire that saved the Clans. And now...his ancestor had helped him in finding a way to mercifully defeat Darkstar. He was now ready for the final battle.

_Thank you, Firestar. I will remember you in my heart forever._

_Into the water (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Into the truth (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_He lives in you!_

**...**

"It's time for this world to end in fire...and for a new World to be born from the ashes!" Darkstar roared to his warriors. "FireClan rules forever!"

He looked up at the night sky as it slowly started to turn from bluish-black to blood red. The Shadow Meteor had arrived, brushing against the atmosphere while it burned a bright orange. Darkstar could imagine all the devastation he could use now that the Meteor had enhanced his FireBending. Now no cat, dead or alive, could stop him.

Unless...

Goldwing had arrived on time, standing on top of a pillar and looking ahead. The meteor above his head had turned the world red as it burned fiercely through its drive across the atmosphere. This was it: his ultimate showdown with Darkstar. Now the battle between good and evil, light and dark, had arrived. Remembering what Firestar told him, Goldwing stayed where he was, watching as Darkstar's air force got nearer.

_Do not be afraid, _his ancestor's voice whispered in his ear. _We are with you._

_Thank you, Firestar, _Goldwing thanked him again as the air ships got nearer.

The battle is closer now.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: This is getting fired up...if you know what I mean. I've worked on this for almost three years, and we're finally getting somewhere. I don't have much to say at the moment, so here's the review thing and the preview for Shadow Meteor: Into The Wild.**

**Review, everyone! Those who do will get virtual plush dolls or figurines of your favorite ATLA character celebrating the Christmas season. I do NOT allow flames on here, or they'll be used to make chestnuts over an open fireplace. And I DO allow constructive criticism and advice**

**Preview: The final battle for the world has finally begun! Will Goldwing find the strength he needs to battle Darkstar? Will Bearclaw and Silverheart succeed in defeating an already insane Frostfire? And will Ashfeather, Echo, Nightfoot, and the Order take out the rest of Darkstar's warriors with them?**

**See ya next time! And Merry early Christmas!**


	20. Into The Wild

**AvatarCat12: Once again, Aang and Katara are not here with the commentaries for now. Right now, they're...**

**Katara: (She and Aang come in) Right here. Aang and I had to do something quick before we came back.**

**Aang: (Smiles) So we're here for the finale FOR REAL this time.**

**AvatarCat12: Well, I'm glad to see you two again. So who's like to say the disclaimer?**

**Katara: (Points to Aang) Aang will. It's his episode after all.**

**Aang: Okay, we'll say it.**

**Disclaimer: I know we shouldn't keep reminding you, so this one will be the last one we'll ever do. Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats don't belong to AvatarCat12. They belong to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter.**

**Summary: ****The final battle for the world has finally begun! Will Goldwing find the strength he needs to battle Darkstar? Will Bearclaw and Silverheart succeed in defeating an already insane Frostfire? And will Ashfeather, Echo, Nightfoot, and the Order take out the rest of Darkstar's warriors with them?**

**Uploading Date: December 18, 2012**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Shadow Meteor: Into The Wild**_

_It can't be..._

Hours had passed since Bearclaw, Silverheart, and Archie had left the camp of the Order to fight against Frostfire. And just when night finally arrived, the sky had slowly started to turn red. And Bearclaw knew what that meant: the Shadow Meteor had finally arrived. The infamous meteor was now streaking hard over the ground, its red energy destroying the clouds in its path.

Where could Goldwing be in this time of danger? He couldn't have fled from the Clans when the Meteor came...or would he? Bearclaw knew that he had to fight Frostfire, but he couldn't be more assured if his FireBending apprentice wasn't here. Yet...he still knew that some way or another, he would be the one to defeat Darkstar.

"Don't worry, Bearclaw," Silverheart reassured him, rubbing her head against his shoulder. "We can take Frostfire on."

"I'm not worried about her," the dark tabby meowed, facing her. "I'm worried about Goldwing. What if he doesn't have the courage to take out my father? What if he loses?"

Silverheart replied, "No, he won't lose. He's gonna come back. He has to...StarClan willing..." At this, she looked to the side out to the sky, her ears flattened with worry.

Bearclaw was amazed to hear the longing in her voice. "You love him, don't you, Silverheart? More than just a friend, right?"

He saw her blue eyes widen with shock before she looked to the side, her cheeks red even under the glow of the evil red sky. Bearclaw remembered how, after he broke off their argument, she gave Goldwing a small smile before padding away while he did the same; this was after they had apologized to each other. There was no denying it anymore for Silverheart...and what she said next confirmed his thoughts.

"...yes...I love him, Bearclaw."

**...**

Frostfire kept her claws unsheathed all the time when she was getting her paws rubbed and her fur groomed. Her leader ceremony was soon to come, and she would not have it ruined by any traitors or lesser FireClan cats. She could not even risk going outside to hunt in fear of being assassinated by traitors, so she had a servant bring food to her.

She looked away from the first three servants grooming her before looking down at the other, who was kneeling and holding a bowl of mice up to her. Frostfire picked up a mouse by the tail with her claw and dropped it into her mouth, chewing on the tender meat. But as she began to chew, she heard a crunching noise and spat out a bone.

_How did mice have bones?! _she thought in anger. _They don't have bones! Do they?_

"What...the hell...is this?" Frostfire spat, pointing a paw at the bone.

The brown-&-ginger servant bowed low to the ground and trembled, mewling, "A-A mouse bone, miss..."

Frostfire nodded. "Correct. And what day is this?"

"It is the day of your leader ceremony, miss," the servant mewed.

"Yes, it is," she growled, glaring down at the bone and pushed it towards the servant. "So please, tell me why on the most important day of my life you decided to leave a bone in this mouse?"

The servant squeaked, "But...mice have bones like us...and it wasn't a decision...perhaps it was just a small mistake?"

Hearing this, Frostfire spat, "Small?! Do you realize what could have happened to me if I hadn't sensed the bone in time?! Do you?!"

"I supposed you could have...choked to death?" the servant asked.

"Yes. Then you understand the severity of your crime."

The servant nodded and bowed low. "I understand, miss. Please...forgive me."

Frostfire nodded. "Oh, very well. Today is a special day after all, so I will show mercy." And as the servant smiled in relief... "You are exiled from FireClan. Leave this palace immediately. If I see you around here again, I will have you killed."

The servant nodded, stood up, and slowly slinked away, keeping her head down. Then Frostfire saw that the others had stopped grooming her, anger filling her. What if she was attacked while they stopped the grooming?

"What are you all looking at?! Get back to work!" she barked. "I have four paws that need extra scrubbing. And make sure you get in between the pads. I will NOT have my first day as Froststar blemished by poor foot hygiene."

**...**

Not even a long while of swimming could stop the giant bloodhound from doing its job. It was just paddling through the sea with its large paws, Ashfeather, Nightfoot, and Echo riding on its back. A bright red light was suddenly on the horizon behind them; the meteor must have arrived.

"This will be a weird to say, but the meteor actually looks beautiful," Echo remarked.

"Yeah. Too bad Darkstar is gonna use it to destroy the world," Nightfoot replied with a frown.

The cats knew they could not eat anything; they would have to use their claws and teeth to fight now, not eat. Meanwhile, the bloodhound had finally reached shore, stepping onto the sand and shaking the water out of its fur. The passengers watched its ears and jowls flop around as they dismounted before going on. Once the bloodhound settled down, the cats climbed up a hill to the edge of a cliff to catch up with Darkstar's fleet.

But when they reached the top, Ashfeather let out a hiss. The FireClan airships were beginning to take off, Darkstar's giant airship leading.

"Damn!" Ashfeather hissed, his tail lashing. "We're too late! The fleet's already leaving!"

Nightfoot snorted. "Then where's the closest airship? We're taking off right now."

Ashfeather stood beside the small black cat, scanning the area. "It's right..."

But before he could answer, Nightfoot managed to grab his and Echo's scruffs in her mouth and catapulted them all into the air by Bending a pillar of rock up from underneath them. They were flung high into the air and then slowly fell towards an airship. Ashfeather and Echo landed on all four paws on the airship's catwalk while catching Nightfoot in the fall.

_That...was awesome, _Ashfeather thought. He never knew Nightfoot could carry two cats at once instead of one.

But he ignored this as the three cats began climbing up a ladder and into the main body of the airship. Ashfeather could imagine Darkstar wearing battle armor and sneering as he stood on the front platform, gazing at the world. He had wanted to see the FireClan leader be defeated, but that was Goldwing's destiny. And Ashfeather knew that it was his destiny to try and help him however he could.

_StarClan, don't fail us now!_

**...**

Frostfire was seated in Darkstar's throne room, surrounded by blue flames. She had asked for the Tai Kwan to come over to her...but they were taking too long. What if she was assassinated right there, and they weren't around to save her? She did not tolerate lateness or disloyalty of any kind. Not at all.

Finally, a group of Tai Kwan cats, led by a light brown Tai Kwan cat, approached her and bowed low before her. She had this cat and his comrades under her claw all the time, from the toughest missions to the most ordinary tasks. Even Longfang, the former EarthClan deputy and the former Tai Kwan leader, could not compete with her.

"You sent for us?" the light brown tom asked. "Is everything alright?"

Frostfire glowered down at them. "Actually, no. Everything's not alright. Do you know how long it took you to get here?"

The tom looked confused. "Um...a few minutes?"

"Five, to be exact. In which time an assassin could have snuck in, killed me, and been on his jolly way," Frostfire growled.

"My apologies," the tom mewed.

But Frostfire did not fall for this kind of disloyalty. Instead, she spat, "Is this how you wish to treat your new leader? With belatedness and treachery?"

The tom's eyes widened with shock. "B-But the Tai Kwan would never betray you. We would all rip out our claws and pour our own blood out for you."

"And I'm sure that's just what you told Longfang before you turned against him and joined me, you piece of shit!" Frostfire snarled, pointing a paw at them. "You're all banished from FireClan! Leave this palace immediately! If I ever see your hides around here again, I'll skin you all alive! No Tai Kwan cat will ever be welcomed here again!"

"But..." The tom was shocked.

"Goodbye."

There was nothing the Tai Kwan cats could say anymore. So they got to their paws and walked away, the lead agent giving one last glare at Frostfire before getting up and walking away. But she paid no attention as she gave one last command to them.

"Please send in the next group on your way out."

**...**

The FireClan air fleet was now flying over the ocean. Ashfeather and Echo crept towards their airship's cabin from the outside, Nightfoot following them. Then the three cats got closer and put their backs to the wall next to the door.

"Shh..." Ashfeather hissed from the corner of his mouth. "Be as quiet as a worm."

Just as he meowed this, Nightfoot padded up to the door and rose to her hind paws, laying her forepaws on it. She knocked on it hard before finally knocking the door down with a huge kick. Immediately after, Nightfoot fell forth on to the fallen door and rolled, using MetalBending to cover the metal door all around her body like armor. A fire blast hit her, but she was unharmed apart from a scratch on her cheek.

The captain looked amazed, but he swiped his claws and sent another fireball at Nightfoot, but she rolled back to avoid the attack. In the same move, she kicked her legs out, which Bended the sheet of metal the captain was standing on up and through the ceiling. One of the FireBenders swiped fire claws at Nightfoot, who shielded herself with the metal plates on the floor. Behind her, Ashfeather and Echo had to dodge to the sides of the door, avoiding the swipe which had appeared to be stronger than before.

_Oh yeah. _Ashfeather knew about this from Emberstar when he and Silverheart were kits. _The FireBenders get their powers strengthened by the comet._

The flames died down, so Nightfoot jumped up from behind her shield and kicked to the side, Bending a large metal pipe on the ceiling towards one of the FireBenders and pinning him to the wall. She swung a foreleg to the other side and Bended part of the metal floor up at another cat just as he attacked, which pinned him to the other wall. From her back, the EarthClan she-cat leapt upwards and hung to the ceiling as she sank her claws into the metal. She began slinking towards the front of the cabin, and the last remaining FireBender shoots a fire swipe at her but missed. Nightfoot jumped down from the ceiling behind the FireBender, and he whirled his head around to bite her throat, but she grabbed his neck with her teeth and directed his head towards the window, blasting it with a fire blast.

Back in the cabin, the FireBender looked back up to Nightfoot, but she slashed at his throat with her claws. Ashfeather and Echo watched as he flew through the door and hit the wall, dead. The two of them into the cabin, the FireBender dead out behind them, and padded into the cabin, which was now mangled due to MetalBending.

"That's the way we roll," she purred, shedding the makeshift armor off her body.

Ashfeather was shocked at her killing another cat, but he didn't want to bring it up. Instead, he meowed, "Good work. Time to take control of the ship." To Echo, he meowed, "Make sure you take the wheel."

Nightfoot rolled her eyes. "That's a great idea! Let the blind cat steer the giant airship and crash into a cliff."

"I was talking to Echo."

"Oh." Nightfoot looked awkward now. "...well, that'd make a lot more sense."

So Echo took the wheel and asked, "What do we do about the rest of the crew?"

Ashfeather looked around, trying to find something to divert the FireClan cats. Finding a speaker connected to a tube, he meowed, "Take us down closer to the water. I got an idea." So he took it into his paws, cleared his throat, and began speaking in a deep voice to disguise his real voice.

"Attention crew, this is your Captain speaking," he began speaking. "Everyone please report to the bomb bay room _immediately_ for some cake and...even sweet potato pie. We have a very, I repeat, VERY special birthday to celebrate today!"

Looking to the side, he saw that there was a small window next to Nightfoot showing all the other engineers and warriors. They had all gathered into the bomb bay room, having heard his announcement ring through all over the airship. Ashfeather knew this was just one step closer to winning the ultimate battle.

"Hey. I'm Stoutclaw," he heard a cat meow. "I work up in the communications room."

"Oh hi," he heard another cat meow. "I'm Ambertail, and I work down in the engine room. I guess that's probably why we've never met before. Big airship, you know?"

"...huh."

"Yep."

Stoutclaw meowed, "So, do you know whose birthday it is?"

Another cat approached them and meowed happily, "My name's Littlestep. I can't believe the Captain remembered my birthday! He really _does_ care!"

Ashfeather seized the chance and pulled on a lever to the bomb bay doors. Immediately after the sentence was finished, the bomb bay doors opened up, and they were dropped into the ocean. The FireBenders that Nightfoot had had taken out were also falling out of the cabin, the dead one's blood spilling down to the water. When the three cats looked down below, they could see the warriors coming up for air.

"Happy Birthday," the engineer told Littlestep.

When Ashfeather looked back, he could see Darkstar's airship floating up ahead. He padded over to the broken window of the cabin and looked up at it, Echo and Nightfoot also looking up at the airship floating away.

"Darkstar, here we come," Ashfeather meowed, grabbing a throttle and pushing it forth.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Frostfire still did not leave her throne in case other cats tried to attack her. Instead, she spent some time lying against one of the pillars that surrounded throne. There should be no attempts on her life until she got her nine lives and her leader name. After that...she would make sure to crush all the Clans except FireClan; it was where she felt safe at.

Approaching pawsteps told her she had two visitors. When she looked down, she saw Lo and Li approaching her, bowing low.

"We heard what happened," Li meowed. "Why have you banished all your servants?"

"All your Tai Kwan cats?" Lo added.

"And the Imperial FireBenders?"

"None of them could be trusted," Frostfire spat. "Sooner or later, they all would have betrayed me. Just like Rose and Aya betrayed me. I hope they're dying of starvation in that prison!"

Li and Lo meowed at the same time, "We are concerned for you and your safety, Frostfire."

Frostfire glared down at them, guessing what they were up to. "My father told you to come here and talk to me, didn't he?! He thinks I can't handle the responsibility of being the new leader of FireClan. But I will! I'll be the greatest leader in FireClan history! I'll show him! I'll show them all!"

Lo mewed soothingly, "I'm sure you will. But considering what has happened today..."

Li finished, "...perhaps it's best you postponed your leadership ceremony."

"What?!" Frostfire could not believe what she just heard. "Which one of you just said that?!"

As they pointed at each other, she meowed, "Not wanting to confess, eh? That's a shame. So there's only one way to get to the bottom of this. I order you to fight each other in an Agni Kai."

"But...we're not FireBenders," the hairless elders mewled.

"Alright, fine," Frostfire snorted impatiently. "Lo, you're exiled. Li, you can stay."

"But I'm Li," one of the she-cats croaked. "So who's exiled?"

Lo shrugged.

Frostfire stalked away from them, back into the comforts of the scorching hot blue flames. There could only be safety if she did not trust any other cat than herself and Darkstar. She felt her eyes burn and look down into her water bowl; her bright yellow eyes were reddening with madness. Her black fur was becoming a knotty mess, and her claws stank of blood and unchewed mouse meat. But she did not care.

What she cared about was keeping others away from her until her leadership ceremony.

**...**

The time to liberate BoulderClan had finally come. Irontail looked on as FireClan tanks rolled through the streets towards the main gate, lining up at it. He and the other cats of the Order had gathered on three giant stone platforms in the distance, watching the enemy patrol around. A flag of the Order of the Phoenix was billowing in the wind, and Irontail looked around at his allies. Rockstar, Hayato, Snowstorm, and Shang Tsung were good warriors with pure hearts.

"The Order of the Phoenix is here, BoulderClan," Rockstar meowed calmly for a cat of his personality.

"Here to set you free," Snowstorm added with a nod.

The cats that had become part of this "AvatarClan" were here as well. Emberstar, leader of the Southern WaterClan, had come here with a young warrior, a loner, and two rogues. Like the Order, they were ready to fight.

"Only once every hundred years can a FireBender experience this kind of power," Irontail finished, feeling the power in his paws.

The Griffin of the West breathed in deeply through his nose before looking up at the Shadow Meteor streaking across the sky. He exhaled, making a ring of fire surround them, as he went on with breathing deeply, and each time he inhaled, the flames grew larger. The ring of fire around them continued to grow more intense, pulsing with each of Irontail's breaths while the others looked on calmly at him. Finally, Irontail opened his eyes and leapt forward, giving a battle cry while his claws burned with fire.

The flames surrounding him met into one giant ball of fire as it gained energy, right before it was unleashed forward as a massive fire blast. The attack rocketed forward and demolished the wall in front of it. Debris flew everywhere, landing amongst the FireClan tanks. Rockstar leapt forth and stomped his forepaws the ground. The three stone platforms the Phoenix cats were standing on began to quickly slide towards the captured city. Fire blasts were shot at the cats, only to be deflected by Irontail. The old masters all leapt off of the stone platform and rushed into the city with the AvatarClan cats going after them.

Right away, the battle began. Emberstar began wrestling with a black cat, Brindleheart was slashing his teeth and claws across any cat he could face, and Tiny (who had been reunited with The Dude) had grabbed one cat by the neck and shook him from side to side. Striker slammed one cat down before grabbing one off his back and throwing it to the side, snarling. Blood was already covering the battlefield, yet this was a day for justice.

Snowstorm leapt up from behind a building and onto its roof, looking down into an alleyway. He Bended a enormous wave of water over the building and down towards the FireClan cats below. He looked up at Shang Tsung leapt over the peak of the wave, which he turned to ice, freezing the warriors in place. Shang Tsung slid down the frozen wave and slashed the ends of the spears with dagger-enforced claws, followed closely behind by Snowstorm. As they slid into another street, the pale gray tom unfroze the water, Bended it up in front of him, and froze it again to block an incoming fire blast. The ice barrier was destroyed, and another fire blast was about to hit him when a great wall of fire erupted in front of him, stopping the attack.

It was Hayato, the one who created the wall of fire, floating in the air using FireBending to create fire jets beneath his paws. The ginger rogue turned to another street as a line of tanks began to fire on him, but he stopped the attacks with another wall of fire. He jumped over a big joint of streets, tanks surrounding him. He ran towards another street and created another wall of fire to block an attack. Hayato made fire surround his paws and swipe them forth, sending the wall of fire down the street and towards the tanks, pushing them back and injuring plenty of warriors. More tanks began to fire on him from another street, but Hayato repeated the move, creating a wall of flame and attacking the tanks with it. The tanks were knocked over and into a pile as the wall of fire pushed another tank into the pile.

**...**

_This is the day, _Frostfire thought as she stood in front of a large mirror. _My leadership ceremony is today._

Later on at moonhigh, she would become the next FireClan leader and be the best one ever, even better than Shadowstar. But first, she needed to be prepared...but she didn't want a servant to do it in fear of having tar or something nasty dumped on her fur. So she decided to do it herself even though she was only good at plain traditional grooming.

She glared up at her head fur as she pulled it into a top knot. She took a red ribbon, making her look like a kittypet, and began to tie it up. Frostfire looked up at her reflection and saw that one of her claws was caught in the knot. Frustrated, she yanked her claw out, tearing away a piece of fur, and unsheathed the rest of her claws to their fullest extension.

"Alright, fur. Time to face your doom!" she spat.

Frostfire grabbed the bangs hanging in front of her face and lifted her paw in the air. She kept cutting at the head fur until it was almost gone, exposing parts of itchy skin. Her reflection in the mirror showed her grinning insanely, her pelt a mess.

But her grin disappears as she saw a familiar cat in the mirror. This was a cat she had not seen in many moons.

"That's a shame, sweetie," the gorgeous light brown tabby she-cat purred warmly. "You've always had such beautiful fur."

Frostfire spun around quickly to face her. "M-Mother?! What are _you_ doing here?!"

Bearheart purred, her voice filled with motherly pride, "I didn't want to miss my own daughter's leader ceremony."

"Don't pretend to act proud," Frostfire spat, turning away from her. "I know what you really think of me. You think I'm a monster, don't you?"

"I think you're confused," her mother meowed, a sad look on her face. "Ever since I gave birth to you and Bearclaw, you used fear to control other cats. Like your friends Rose and Aya. This was not the path StarClan wanted you to walk on."

Frostfire felt her voice crack as she rasped, "But what choice do I have?! Trust is only for fools. Fear is the only reliable way. Even _you_ fear me."

Bearheart shook her head. "Of course I don't fear you, Frostfire. I _love_ you, my daughter."

This was too much for Frostfire, who felt her heart wrench painfully as if she had a heart attack. She lowered her head, tears dripping from her eyes as she looked down at her claws with extra head fur on them. Bearheart could not be here to actually taunt her with this. There was no way she could have sneaked in here without anyone seeing her.

She suddenly turned around and angrily threw the brush at the reflection of Bearheart, shattering the mirror. But the light brown tabby queen was gone, and Frostfire was all alone. She fell to the ground and started to sob.

**...**

The fleet of FireClan airships had finally arrived on land. Darkstar was still sitting at the front of his airship, scanning the territory he was going to destroy. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as if to literally smell the victory ahead. When he opened his eyes, he smiled in a demonic way, feeling that Tigerstar's desire to destroy the three other Clans would come true.

Meanwhile, the other airships were lining up behind his airship, and the airship that Ashfeather, Nightfoot, and Echo took was just beneath it. Ashfeather was shocked to see how fast they were moving over EarthClan territory. They had lifted off some time ago, and it amazed him to see how they had gotten here so early. But they were too fast for them to catch up to.

"We're not gonna catch up in time," Ashfeather sighed.

Echo stared on in surprise and sadness, her green eyes wide.

They watched as Darkstar lifted his forelegs up and tilted his head back. With a sadistic smile, Darkstar lashed his claws down towards the ground beneath the airship. A small but incredibly intense flame ignited in front of his hand, growing steadily larger until it finally erupted into an enormous fire blast that burned the earth below. The fire was so terrible that any animal that crossed it was burned alive immediately.

Meanwhile, Goldwing stood on the tall stone pillar, facing Darkstar's assault and feeling terror and sadness. Darkstar was destroying the land thanks to his greed for power, he realized as he saw the animals like deer and wolves fleeing from the flames. Even Shadowstar or Thistlestar would not want to destroy the world, and he recalled one of his nightmares about the world being bathed in fire. It would happen now if Darkstar wasn't stopped.

_Is this what a war really is? _Goldwing thought in horror._ At this rate, no peace will come to the Clans. At this rate...everyone will die._

He had recalled seeing the burning scenery as wildfires started to appear while he was on his way here. Plenty of cats and other animals were killed, but his heart wrenched when he saw a young queen sobbing over her kits' bodies and an elder limping through the forest. No peace could be in the land as long as Darkstar was around to cause misery. There was only one more thing left to do.

"Tobi, get outta here," he told his hawk gently, who was on his shoulder. "I'll handle this."

Tobi gave a caw and lifted off, soaring down towards the greener he was gone, Goldwing closed his dark gray eyes and breathed deeply, concentrating.

He proceeded to perform several spinning kicks, using EarthBending to send giant pieces of the stone pillar beneath him towards Darkstar's ship. The chunks of rock whistled past the side of the airship, which caught his notice. The last few pieces of rock struck the airship's engine, which made Darkstar lose balance and cease his attack. Smoke drifted from the engine as it lost power and began to descend. Goldwing spun his body around, gathering his energy, and released a huge fire blast at the ship, striking the finishing blow to its engine.

Goldwing looked to the side towards the airship as it floated past him, facing Darkstar for the first time while the latter stared at him in shock. This cat looked very much like Bearclaw, from the dark brown tabby pelt to the amber eyes and to the long foreclaws. In other words, this cat looked just like Tigerstar. Goldwing stopped the attack as Darkstar removed his armor, burning it until he looked like a normal cat.

The dark tabby leapt off of the platform he was standing on, using his FireBending to fly like a falcon towards the Avatar Cat. His airship ended up crashing into the field of giant stone pillars, and Goldwing watched as Darkstar landed on a pillar just across from him.

**(Katara: The following part will be like the final battle between Weed and Hougen from Ginga Densetsu Weed...which AvatarCat12 doesn't own.)**

"It's good to see you for the first time, Avatar Cat!" Darkstar spat, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm so happy I could cry!"

"Just watch!" Goldwing leapt down the slope towards him. "Zetsu Tenrou Battouga!"

At this, he began to spin around in circles, hurtling towards Darkstar in a breakneck speed. But Darkstar did not seem intimidated by this new attack.

Instead, he sneered, "You think that will fool me, kit? I can see through that attack!" He began to lunge over to the side...and that was when Goldwing struck.

Quickly, he pulled out of his Battouga in time like he did in training. He had just enough time to see Darkstar look shocked before he leapt over to behind him, panting. With a yowl, Goldwing leapt at him with unsheathed claws, striking at his face. He repeated this until he was all over the FireClan leader, swiping and biting and doing whatever he could to keep him there.

_Remember, Goldwing, _he heard his mentor's voice meow from the past._ In a fight, there is no knowing what will happen next. Always fight from a distance._

_I know, _he had meowed back. _And if they get near, I'll use my fangs and claws to cut._

Finally, after more cuts to the head, Darkstar roared "THAT'S ENOUGH!" and lunged for him, his teeth just missing his ear. Goldwing leapt high into the sky and started spinning again, going right for the head once again. He felt his fang connect with his forehead before he fell to the side, panting and looking up at the wheezing FireClan leader.

Meanwhile, Ashfeather saw a truly amazing sight through the spyglass. Goldwing had leapt at the arriving Darkstar with a Battouga and quickly cut at his face with plenty of claw attacks. That was the most powerful series of clawing moves he had ever seen, even faster than his own father or even Volefoot.

"Ashfeather?" Echo asked, looking worried. "What just happened?"

"It's Goldwing!" Ashfeather told the tortoiseshell-&-white she-cat. "He faked a Battouga, turned it into a different attack, and rendered Darkstar helpless! In other words...he's back!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Back on the stone pillars, Darkstar grunted as he slowly rose to his paws, blood dripping to the rock under his pads. Goldwing was shocked; this cat had actually stood up even after a Battouga hit him. But still, there was no time to stop and think it over now.

"At last," Darkstar hissed, revealing yellow teeth. "After generations of FireClan leaders failed to find you, now my ancestors deliver you to me on a silver platter."

Goldwing shook his head to clear out the insult. "Please listen to me. We don't have to fight. You have the power to end it here and stop what you're doing."

Darkstar's yellow eyes narrowed to slits. "You are right, Avatar Cat. I DO have the power. I have all the power in the world!" And before Goldwing could say anything else, torrents of fire erupted from his mouth to try and intimidate him.

But Goldwing was not scared anymore. Instead, he was ready.

Just then, Darkstar jumped up, spun around in the air, and slammed a paw downward, creating a circular wave of flame that spread out toward Goldwing. The Avatar Cat jumped over the attack and then slammed his paws into the stone pillar below him. He EarthBended a piece of the pillar he was holding on to into the air. He rotated it around and then kicked the chunk of rock at the dark tabby, who leapt away using his FireBending.

In midair, Darkstar leapt at Goldwing using a jet of fire underneath his paws. At once, Goldwing sprang at him, carrying out a spinning claw attack and sending a wave of fire at him. Darkstar swiped his claws at him too and shot a fire blast from his hind foot. The two attacks collided in a fiery explosion, and the two leapt back, new wounds on their backs. Goldwing rushed forth and clung onto Darkstar's neck, trying to bite the top of his head, which was weakened due to the Battouga. With a roar, Darkstar shook him off, swiping at his side with his claws. But in time, Goldwing kicked him away and leapt away from the attack.

"You bastard, you bastard, you BASTARD!" Darkstar roared with each swipe. And every time, he missed.

Meanwhile, back at the broken window of the airship cabin, Goldwing's friends watched on as the final battle began. It was one of the most amazing things they had ever seen.

"Go, Goldwing!" Ashfeather cheered. "AirBending slice!"

"Shouldn't we help him out?" Echo asked.

Ashfeather shook his head. "Sorry, but we can't. Darkstar is Goldwing's fight; that's his destiny. We need to stay focused on stopping that fleet from burning down EarthClan."

"And how the hell do we do that, Boomerangstar?" Nightfoot asked. "I can't see outside of this floating hunk of metal."

This made Ashfeather look away, trying to think of an idea. But then...something he had just said had given him an idea.

"Airship slice!" he meowed. "Hey, that's it!"

Echo raised her brow at this, but Ashfeather didn't care. If this would work, then they could take down all the airships in the fleet.

So they went back to the steering wheel, and Ashfeather began making the airship go up. The dark gray tabby tom pulled some levers at the helm, and it continued to gain altitude. Then he spun the wheel to his left as it banked left towards the left end of the airship fleet behind it.

He could see warriors standing on platforms jutting out towards the front as they unleashed torrents of comet-powered fire down to the earth. Ashfeather watched in shock as the fire blasts hit the earth. The fire burned the ground below, creating an enormous amount of smoke and forcing birds to fly away, and the forest below was engulfed in flames in an instant.

"Whoa. That's a lot of fire," Nightfoot remarked, looking down even though she couldn't see.

Ashfeather spun the wheel back around as their airship came to face the side of the airship fleet. He pulled at some more levers, steadying the ship, until he pulled a lever down, watching the dial's needle turning to the maximum. Fiery smoke began billowing out from the exhaust pipes of the airship as it began to rupture and explode.

"Hang on to your tails; it's gonna be a bumpy ride," Ashfeather meowed, gritting his teeth in determination. "We need to get to the top of this thing right now."

Immediately, he began pushing Nightfoot over to the doorway, and the black cat ran off into the billowing smoke.

"And then what?" Echo asked her mate as they stopped.

Ashfeather looked back into her eyes. "Watch out for each other. And if we make it that far, I'll let you know."

At this, he gave Echo a gentle lick on the ear while she did the same to his cheek. Then he watched as she followed Nightfoot before haring after them.

He felt the airship groan as he climbed up the ladder; their airship had begun to descend and then proceeded to plow into the other airships, one after the other and causing them to crash. The three cats climbed their way up the ladder to the top of the airship, yet the floor beneath their paws was demolished just as Ashfeather grabbed a hold of the ladder. But all the same, the three of them climbed out through a hatch on top.

Right away, Ashfeather grabbed a hold of Nightfoot's scruff, ignoring her yelp, and they all began running to the front of the airship. The airship was continuing to fly on through the fleet, slowly destroying itself in the process. Just as they got near the end, part of the front split up, separating Echo from the Clan cats. The Tribe she-cat looked shocked as she tried to make a leap but had to back off.

Partly forgetting the mission, Ashfeather stepped forth, yowling, "Echo!"

The nose of the airship broke away from the rest of it as it rammed itself into one last enemy airship. But then Echo leapt off the crumbling airship and onto another one.

"I'm okay!" the tortoiseshell called. "Just finish the mission! May the Tribe of Endless Hunting help you!"

"No..." Ashfeather did not want to leave his mate behind.

But Nightfoot nudged him gently away, meowing, "Come on, Ashfeather. She'll be okay. I think we've gotta..."

"Jump!"

As the airship slammed into the side of an enemy airship, Ashfeather and Nightfoot jumped down. They landed on the airship below, stumbling forth, and the former quickly shielded the latter with his body from the falling debris.

**...**

Bearclaw swore his claws were itching for action the closer they got to FireClan. Silverheart was looking worried for him just beside him while Archie groaned at the sight of the meteor streaking its way through the air. Below, Bearclaw could see the ceremonial plaza at the palace where the new leader of the Clan would be chosen, ducts of waters streaming on both sides of the area.

Frostfire was already sitting at the top of the plaza steps, wearing the leader robes. Behind her were several Fire Elder Sages, excluding the fifth cat. The leader of the Elder Sages was holding the leader's crown above his sister's head, ready to announce the new leader.

"By decree of Tiger Lord Darkstar I now crown you leader of..."

At this, Bearclaw made his move. He urged Archie to fly down to meet Frostfire head-on while the Elder Sage paused as he looked up. Frostfire turned her head to glower at him, an angry snarl on her face.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she spat. "Do it!

Archie let out a big roar, making the black she-cat look up in time. When the Asian Lung dragon landed in the plaza's courtyard, Bearclaw got to see his sister and flinched when he saw her. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with insanity, her fur was all messy, and her claws were always unsheathed even if she wasn't fighting.

"Sorry, but you're not going to become the leader today," Bearclaw meowed, leaping down from Archie's saddle. "I am."

Frostfire let out a harsh cackle of disdain. "Ha! You? The new leader of FireClan? You're hilarious."

"And you're going down," Silverheart retorted, standing by Bearclaw's side.

The Fire Elder Sage padded forth to crown Frostfire, but she raised her tail to him, signaling for him to stop.

"So you want to be leader of the Clan?" Frostfire's voice was full of disbelief. Then a very cruel smile spread across her face as she jeered, "Fine. Then let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be...Agni Kai!"

Bearclaw's eyes narrowed. "Okay, Frostfire. You're on."

Frostfire's mouth curved into a slight sneer. This made Silverheart lean in and mew to Bearclaw, "What're you doing? She's just toying with you. She knows she can't take us both on, so she's trying to separate us."

"I know," Bearclaw replied, turning to her. "But I can take her this time."

"But you said you would need help facing Frostfire," the silver tabby she-cat reasoned.

Bearclaw nodded. "I know. But there's something off about her; I can't explain it, but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt."

So brother and sister went over to the courtyard where there would normally be a crowd of cats gathering to hear the leader. Bearclaw knew that this time, he would HAVE to be the leader, not wanted to. He padded on over to the right end to the battle arena while Frostfire went on over to the left end. Once they did so, they padded towards each other and began circling around one another, preparing to strike.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, _brother_," Frostfire hissed, prowling around with him in a circle.

"No," Bearclaw growled, prowling in pace. "No you're not."

Frostfire just sneered and assumed a more awkward stance. At the sound of the golden gong, the battle had begun.

Frostfire let out a screech and hurled herself at Bearclaw, shooting a blast of blue flame. Bearclaw leapt to the side, jumped forth, and lashed his claws out, Bending two waves of flame in each paw that came together and shot forth until the blue and orange flames collided into a wall of fire. As the flames dispersed, Frostfire sprang forward on a jet of fire and lashed out with her talon-like claws, shooting a blast of fire.

**...**

Goldwing landed on top of a pillar and leapt away just before blocking and being pushed back by a blast of fire from Darkstar. He followed up his attack with a stream of fire from a downward swipe. Thankfully, Goldwing landed on a rock and deflected the attack, lifting a small boulder from the rock and kicking it at the dark tom. Darkstar got hit on the shoulder and countered by shooting a blast of fire with a kick. Goldwing landed to the top of another rock to avoid the fire and leapt to the side of a nearby waterfall. He looked over his shoulder to see Darkstar land on the rock he had leaped to and kick another fire blast at him.

Using good timing, Goldwing used WaterBending to re-direct the waterfall at Darkstar, dousing the fire blast and causing him to jump away. Darkstar leapt at him and swiped at his face; it managed to catch his shoulder, but he leapt away to the top of the waterfall. Darkstar leapt up after him, turned around, and shot a fire blast from both back paws. His shoulder now bleeding, Goldwing jumped down the other side of the rocky slope to evade the flames.

As Darkstar flew over him, Goldwing landed on a boulder and lifted it into the air as he shot away again. This stopped him for just a moment before he continued to chase after Goldwing and shot a stream of fire at him from his claws. The golden tom spun his body around, creating a small tornado around himself that deflected the fire, and then he landed on the side of a rock pillar. He slid around to the other side of it as Darkstar landed on a rock and shot another stream of fire, leaping from pillar to pillar; then he began using his AirBending to boost himself back at the first pillar and kicked the entire top half of the stone pillar at Darkstar. However, the FireClan leader flew around to the other side and shot a concentrated ball of fire, catching the younger cat by surprise.

Goldwing blocked the attack with his head, the fire flowing past his body. He was pushed back and scraped his side against one of the rocks, grunting in pain and falling down to an outcrop. Darkstar pounced at Goldwing and landed nearby on the same ledge. Ignoring the blood seeping out of his wound, Goldwing got to his paws and flattened himself against the rock before pulling away from it and using EarthBending to create rocky armor around his body. Darkstar shot a strong stream of flame from his mouth, walking towards him and pushing him around the ledge with the attack. He stopped and swiped his paw at him to hit him with a fire blast, but Goldwing leapt away, shedding the stone armor.

He flipped back in midair and shot a blast of wind at the evil tabby. Darkstar dodged to the side to avoid it, and in midair, he began to charge lightning. As he landed on a rock, he shot the bolt of lightning at Goldwing. Said cat, clinging to a rock, looked on in fear, but before the lightning could hit, he swung to the side, creating a tornado around his body. He evaded the lightning and pounced around to the top of the rock. Darkstar lashed another bolt at him, but Goldwing leapt to the side. After more dodging, Goldwing lifted the top of a rock into the air to shield him then dodged the next bolt. He got to a rock and rolled forth just as Darkstar fired one more lightning bolt at him.

_...fuck! It's the third lightning attack in a row! _Goldwing thought in panic. _What do I do?!_

But then he remembered what Bearclaw taught him: _If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's energy against them. _Then... _You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body. But you know that if you make the wrong move and you go down, it's over. It's the rule of claw and fang._

With no time to dodge, he lifted his tail to the lightning and absorbed it, grimacing in pain as he felt the jolt through his body. Goldwing let the lightning flow through his body and to his paw while looking at Darkstar, who stared back with fear.

_Wait, what am I doing? _he suddenly realized. _Even though Darkstar's evil, I can't just kill him! I just can't! I have to follow the Warrior Code!  
><em>

So instead of re-directing the lightning at Darkstar, Goldwing lifted his paw to the sky and let the lightning shoot out harmlessly. But when he fell to the ground, tired from the strain, Darkstar sneered and pounced at him with flaming claws. So Goldwing quickly raised a wall of stone in front of him to block the attack, but the fire claws blasted through anyways. Goldwing was slashed across the cheek by the claws, blown off the rock, and plummeted down to the shallow water below.

But he quickly shifted himself around and frantically waved his paws down at the water. Just as he was about to land, Goldwing managed to Bend the water up so that it caught him and softened the impact. A large wave was created as the water fell down, and he was carried with it while he watched the blood from his cheek drip down below. He stood up and looked upward...only to see Darkstar flying down at him

**...**

Enormous blue and orange flames were flung in the right side of the city. One building was on fire from the resulting battle, and another was quickly caught on fire afterwards. Bearclaw raced over to Frostfire and waved his paw around, releasing a powerful stream of fire. It collided with a stream of blue fire from Frostfire, and both attacks pushed against each other for a moment before slipping to one side. Bearclaw continued his blast of fire while keeping enormous blue flames on his other side at bay, slowly sliding backward. He pivoted his paw to strengthen his stance and keep himself steady. As they finished this move, they pounced at each other, lashing at one another with their claws.

Both cats stopped their attacks and leapt back. Frostfire looked back at the plaza behind her, which had caught on fire from the attack. She turned back to her brother, looking angry and a bit scared, but she charged forward and leapt up on a blast of fire, which she swung down at her littermate. Just before the attack hit, Bearclaw spun around in a circle and lashed his tail out to the sides, creating a wall of flame that split the blue fire in half.

The flames died down, and Frostfire was crouching on the ground, scared and panting heavily. One of her ears had been ripped off, and blood striped across her pelt. She gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes in determination as Bearclaw leapt forth with his other paw, launching two big fireballs her, spiraling and intertwining to create one massive fireball. Frostfire's reddened eyes were wide with fear and tinted orange from the approaching blast, but she dodged to the right on a jet of blue fire, just narrowly avoiding the fireball.

Frostfire angled herself to fly down while in the air, rocketing over the ground on jets of fire from her paws and launching two huge blue fire blasts. Bearclaw planted his forepaws near the ground and shot a blast of fire, thrusting himself into the air and avoiding one of his sister's attacks. He spun around in midair and swung a back leg downward, which made an arc of flame that blocked the second fire blast. As he fell back down, he slammed all four of his feet down, creating a blast of fire that destroyed a third blue fire blast and reached Frostfire.

Bearclaw crouched low to the ground, his tail lifted up and blue and orange flames surrounding him. Blinking blood from his eyes, he saw Frostfire flying forward over the ground, banking to the right and avoiding his last fire blast. The black she-cat shot a blast of fire at him from her mouth and began to circle him, followed by a huge trail of blue fire left from the streams of fire propelling her. Yet Bearclaw defended himself by creating a large sphere of fire around him and then tried to attack her with blasts of fire as she circled him, but she was too fast. So he stopped shooting fire blasts at her, crouched low, and performed several spinning sweep kicks, creating a powerful ring of fire that stretched outward. Just as Frostfire got near, her eyes widened with shock and tried to stop herself by blocking the attack with a shield of blue fire, but she was too late, and it connected.

Frostfire fell forward and rolled across the ground due to her own momentum, gasping in pain from a burn in her side. She picked herself up and panted heavily while she glared at Bearclaw with anger and hatred, baring her teeth. Her brother was fighting with a calm and calculating spirit while she was fighting with insanity and loss of control.

"No lightning today, huh?" Bearclaw taunted her, feeling blood flow freely from his shoulder. "What's the matter, _sister_? Afraid I'll send it back to you?"

As he unsheathed his claws, he saw Silverheart pad over to him, worry on her face. Bearclaw wanted to tell her to keep away from the danger, but he also knew she was a great healer. So he just ignored her as she padded closer to him with each careful pawstep.

"Oh, I'LL _SHOW_ YOU LIGHTNING!" Frostfire roared, flecks of spit and even blood flying everywhere.

The black she-cat proceeded to wave her claws around in arcs to generate the lightning, but her motions were far more dramatic and irregular than usual. Bearclaw breathed in and out deeply as he entered his stance and lifted his tail up to take the lightning. At the same time, the air around them flashed as Frostfire's lightning charged up and she finished her waves. But then...Bearclaw saw her eye dart to the side and rest on Silverheart.

Then his worst concerns came into reality. Frostfire smirked briefly and then lashed her claws and tail to the left of Bearclaw, releasing the lightning at the silver tabby she-cat.

When he saw the lightning shoot from her tail and her leaping at her, Bearclaw looked over to his right, seeing it shoot out towards Silverheart. So he ran forth, his paws carrying him on their own as he turned around in time to see if Silverheart was okay. He could see the pure shock and horror in her beautiful blue eyes as they reflected the approaching lightning.

"_NO!"_

With this bellow, Bearclaw leapt in between them as he saw Frostfire arrive with the lightning towards them. He reared to his hind legs and caught one of her lightning-lit paws while feeling her other paw rake from his neck down his belly. Pain shot through him, but he latched onto her forelegs with his claws, absorbing the lightning coming from Frostfire, electricity surrounding the area. He looked back to see Silverheart looking on in the same shock and horror as he hit the ground, letting the lightning escape from his tail.

The enormous bolt of redirected lightning erupted into the sky, lighting up the entire crater. On the ground, Bearclaw laid on his side, twitching as the terrible voltage surged through his body and almost to his heart. He groaned as he rolled onto his back, blood spraying everywhere onto the battlefield.

"BEARCLAW! NO!"

At this yowl, Silverheart got up from her spot and ran over towards Bearclaw. The fur around his chest had been burned away by the lightning, and a bloodied scar was left on his chest, running from there to the south of his belly. Silverheart almost got to the bleeding cat, but she was stopped by another lightning bolt that struck the ground between them. Frostfire was hunched over and swaying from side to side, laughing maniacally, as she leapt at Silverheart once again.

_StarClan please save Bearclaw!_

**...**

Darkstar straightened the angle of his flight and rocketed over the water below, leaving behind a wave. Scared of the next attack, Goldwing turned away and began swinging his tail in circles as he used WaterBending to propel himself over the water and towards the shore. He made it back to shore, stumbling forward and falling with Darkstar closing in behind him.

Just as the FireClan leader reached him, Goldwing stomped his forepaws to the blood-covered ground and EarthBended a small thick sphere of rocks around himself. Darkstar landed on top of the sphere, laughing evilly as he reached through an unprotected area of the sphere. Goldwing, who was within the cramped space, was very frightened yet bracing himself before he felt claws pierce his neck.

"Darkstar..." Goldwing rasped as the claws now sank into his throat. "How long do you want to keep up this useless battle? How can you fight...for something so meaningless?"

"This world we live in is a weak place! It doesn't matter how you win...it matters that you DO win!" Darkstar spat, his amber eyes alive with malice. He sunk his claws even deeper and roared, "You're weak! Just like the rest of your Clan! They did not deserve to exist in this world, in _my_ world! There is only to be one Clan in this world...FireClan! _Prepare to join your disgraceful Clanmates, Avatar Cat_! _PREPARE TO DIE!"_

At this, he let out a yowl before before smashing both forepaws into the ball, using his claws to release a powerful blast of fire on impact. Goldwing crouched inside the rock ball, closing his eyes as small pebbles fell around him and the stone cocoon shook, trying to keep the entire thing intact. He could even see the orange light between the individual rocks.

The fire of Darkstar's clawing attack blasted downward and then rose in a bright orange cloud. Darkstar jumped back a distance away, landing on all four paws and watching Goldwing look up at him, who had blood now covering much of his face. With a roar of triumph, he leapt forward and swiped fierce fiery claws at him.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Aang: Wow...that was so intense.**

**Katara: I'll say. I thought I would lose you that day, Aang. And Zuko...he's our friend.**

**AvatarCat12: Wow...you're right about that. But anyways, we've got sixty episodes down and one more to go. Who wants to say the review thing and the preview for the final episode called Avatar Cat Goldwing?**

**Aang: I will. (To the readers) Read and review, everyone. Anyone who does so will get a virtual figurine of their favorite battle scene on the series and a virtual drink of your choice. And remember, you can refuse the prize if you want. We don't allow flames, or they'll be used for burning leaves, but we allow advice and constructive criticism.**

**Preview: The final battle between Goldwing and Darkstar continues. Will Goldwing defeat the FireClan leader in time before the meteor finishes its orbit? Will Silverheart fight against Frostfire and win in Bearclaw's place? And will the world and its Clans be saved from an everlasting hellfire?**

**See ya next time! And Merry early Christmas!**


	21. Avatar Cat Goldwing

**AvatarCat12: This is it. The final episode of Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat.**

**Katara: It's the one we've been waiting for. And on December 21st too.  
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**Aang: After three years...it's finally going to be over. Hey Avatar Cat, you wanna say the TRUE last disclaimer?**

**Katara: Yeah, come on, Avatar Cat!**

**AvatarCat12: Well...I guess I can...oh, what the heck. I'll go ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I will never ever own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. And I don't own the songs King Of Pride Rock and the reprise for Circle Of Life; they belong to The Lion King.**

**Summary: The final battle between Goldwing and Darkstar continues. Will Goldwing defeat the FireClan leader in time before the meteor finishes its orbit? Will Silverheart fight against Frostfire and win in Bearclaw's place? And will the world and its Clans be saved from an everlasting hellfire?**

**Uploading Date: December 21, 2012**

**All three: Enjoy the last chapter!**

**...**

_**Shadow Meteor: Avatar Cat Goldwing**_

The barren land was once an ocean, but now, it had been dried up after Darkstar's attack. Now the ocean had been reduced to nothing but small puddles of water near the stone pillars. Darkstar still kept attacking Goldwing's rock shelter, swiping at it with his right and then left forepaw. He sent a straight fire blast towards the ball as Goldwing fought back to keep it up, tiny rock pieces falling on impact with the blasts.

"Come on out, Avatar Cat!" Darkstar sneered, scraping at the rock shield with his claws. "You know you can't hide in there forever!"

_But you can't _fight_ forever either! _Goldwing wanted to protest. But the rock shelter around him was threatening to collapse, so he could not speak.

Back at the airships in the air, a lone FireBender continued to send torrents of flame towards the ground. Some airships the three young cats had sabotaged earlier were now smoking and steadily descending. Quickly, Ashfeather nudged Nightfoot away as she ran with all her might behind him, debris from the ship's covering fly around them in tiny crimson pieces.

"MetalBend the rudder so it's blocked in the turning position," Ashfeather ordered to Nightfoot. "The ship will spiral and slam into the others."

"Got it," the blind she-cat meowed.

She pushed him out of the way with her shoulder, licked both her forepaws, and let out a battle screech as she slammed them on the rudder, pulling the metal sheets back steadily and turning the rudder into a vertical position. Ashfeather watched the airships as one of them slowly turned around and hit the neighboring ship, and the airship Nightfoot and Ashfeather were on now tore through the neighboring airship as the roof of the airship passed by. The two cats had to sink their claws into the floor at the force of the impact

Ashfeather stared on in surprise and joy. "Have I ever mentioned how awesome it is that you created MetalBending?"

Nightfoot shrugged. "Yeah, you could stand to mention it more."

They saw another airship shooting flames towards the ground, but the flames dissipated as the sabotaged airship slammed into it. But when they looked to the right, they saw a cream-furred cat leap out from a trapdoor, his eyes alive with rage. Quickly, Ashfeather nudged Nightfoot away in time, narrowly missing a strong fire blast as they struggled to get out of the path of fire.

They leapt off of there, Ashfeather sliding his claws and sword down the metal as he did so, but they were now sparking due to friction. All the same, these were slowing their descent to a very certain degree. But suddenly, Nightfoot let out a yelp of fear, and Ashfeather saw why: they were getting near the edge of the airship, almost falling to their deaths.

The sword and claws didn't make contact with the cover, so both of them were thrown off the ship's surface. Ashfeather lost his hold on the sword and fell onto a wrench-shaped platform, grunting in pain as he felt his left hind leg crack under the weight. Nightfoot fell through a U-shaped portion of the platform, but he lashed his tail to her in time and winced as he felt her claws sink into it. He felt his back leg bend painfully into an awkward angle, and his sword was punctured vertically into the balance beam near his legs.

"My leg!" Ashfeather groaned, the pain even more unbearable. "Hold on, Nightfoot!"

"G-Got it, sir," Nightfoot rasped, tears in her eyes as she clung onto his tail for dear life.

But he looked a bit to the right when he saw an elite FireBender attached to a safety harness coming at them. Ashfeather turned his head to the side to find another FireBender taking position on the other side. The pain in his leg and tail (from Nightfoot still hanging on) were too much for him, so he did one thing he knew he could do: get his boomerang out.

Just when the FireBender started to attack, Ashfeather finally got his boomerang out and slashed at the cat's face with one end of it. The cat let out a snarl of pain, and he took the chance to reach for his sword, which was very close by in his bag. He used his uninjured hind leg to kick up the hilt of his sword and grabbed the sword just in time. His weapon in his jaws, he threw it out and cut the platform the remaining FireBender was standing on. But the harness prevented him from falling to his death unlike the others, so the sword was now useless.

"Bye, Meteor Sword," he mewled sadly, looking down as it fell to the earth below.

Things went from bad to worse when he looked up to see a group of FireBenders run over and position themselves into a stance. When he felt Nightfoot's teeth scrape against his tail and let go, Ashfeather quickly leaned down to grab her scruff. But now, they were trapped. There was nothing they could do anymore.

"I-I don't think Boomerang's coming back, Nightfoot," Ashfeather rasped, struggling to try and pull her up by the scruff. "It looks like...the end for us. It's been an honor fighting by your side..."

By the way he heard Nightfoot sobbing, he knew this was hopeless. They were going to be killed by FireClan during the Shadow Meteor...but Ashfeather knew he would rather die fighting than die as a coward. He sent a silent prayer to StarClan to take them quickly and let the pain be done.

Suddenly, the FireBenders ran off in fear. Ashfeather looked behind him to see another airship heading towards them at high speed, slamming into the sabotaged airship and scraping through the bottom. He let go of her, and she landed safely on the roof of the attacked airship, Ashfeather following her and wincing from his broken leg.

"How in StarClan did it happen?" Nightfoot asked, her pale green eyes wide with surprise. "Did your boomerang come back?"

"No...Echo did."

He smiled up at his island-guard mate, who smiled down to them as she hung from a harness near the rudder of the airship. Ashfeather felt pride and relief in his heart when the tortoiseshell-&-white she-cat let them climb on board. The FireClan fleet was gone thanks to her, and that way, Goldwing could now fight Darkstar without any interference.

_Thank you, StarClan...and Tribe of Endless Hunting._

**...**

Through the hole, Goldwing saw Darkstar create a curved fireball with his left paw, a straight blast, and then two curved blasts towards the ball with both paws. The impact lifted the rock ball off the ground, and another fire blast hit the ball, sending it back. Darkstar leapt up and headed towards the ball, FireBending along the way. He landed and sent a torrent of flames at the ball, the flames as tall as a water spout. Goldwing cringed inside the ball, for he did not want to fight unless he was ready to continue.

Just then, the ball lightened and darkened rapidly, glowing red hot from the flames. Darkstar ran back, creating a small ball of fire with his foreclaws. He ran forth and swiped his claws at the ball, and Goldwing watched at the rocks began to crumble around him. The golden cat had a small shield of air around him, but he was slammed against a jutted edge of a rock wall, scraping at his scar and causing the wound to reopen and blood to spill.

As he fell and landed on his side, a flash of lightning streaked before his eyes...but it wasn't by Darkstar. It was back to when he was struck down by Frostfire in BoulderClan, blocking the Avatar Cat State. He could see Heavyrose before him, her eyes glowing and Whitestorm doing the same thing as they stood before him. Goldwing could recall going into the Avatar Cat State in BoulderClan and during the hurricane in leaf-bare. He felt his spirit's arrows glow with bright intensity while he saw Darkstar prowling towards him.

_I've unlocked the final chakra, _Goldwing realized. _I've finally done it...and I didn't have to give Silverheart up!_

"Come on out, kit," the Tiger Lord sneered, towering over him. "You're about to be..."

But suddenly, as Goldwing arrived out of the stone, he grabbed Darkstar's throat in his jaws and tossed him away. His eyes and arrow stripes were glowing with full power...he was now in the Avatar Cat State again after so long. And as if that wasn't enough, he saw something appearing before their eyes.

**(Author's Note: This scene here will also be like from the anime and manga of Ginga Densetsu Weed...which I don't own. And the music appearing will be the epic climax of Merchant Prince, which belongs to Two Steps From Hell.)**

Cats. Cats whose fur glowed with stars. They began appearing all around the two battlers in all colors, shapes, and sizes...even ages. Goldwing could see cats like Whitestorm, Heavyrose, and even his beloved mentor Goldenstripe among them. But then...there were many cats he could not recognize...except for Firestar and a few others, yet he had heard tales about them.

"Don't worry, Goldwing. You're doing excellent," Goldenstripe purred, his golden tabby pelt shining as he stood beside him. "Hold your spirit up until the end. That is what makes you a true warrior cat."

Now he saw the cats before him. Bluestar, Bramblestar, Sandstorm, Lionheart, Spottedleaf, Leafpool, Yellowfang, Graystripe, Squirrelflight, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, Dovewing, Ivypool, and even more from ThunderClan. Blackstar, Raggedstar, Silverflame, Sagewhisker, Littlecloud, Tawnypelt, and Flametail of ShadowClan. Tallstar, Onestar, Mudclaw, Ashfoot, Whitetail, Crowfeather, and Gorsepaw of WindClan. Crookedstar, Leopardstar, Mistystar, Mothwing, Stonefur, Silverstream, Feathertail, Stormfur, and Mosskit of RiverClan. There was even Leafstar, Sharpclaw, Echosong, Billystorm, Shrewtooth, and more of SkyClan. Even other cats like Cinderpelt, Whitestorm the First, Rowanclaw, Morningflower, and Hailstar were there.

Seeing the opportunity, Goldwing leapt forth and tried to scratch at Darkstar's face, but he was swatted down and pinned to the ground by a large paw. All of a sudden, he was pushed out of the way when he saw Sharpclaw in his place, chuckling as he threw Darkstar off of him. Just then, several cats of StarClan had appeared next to him, their pelts bristling. He tried to glare around at Goldwing, but he ended up staring into the calm yet furious eyes of Blackstar.

"Didn't I warn you in a dream that I would put my soul in a descendant?" Lionblaze spat at Darkstar. "Well, here he is. It's too late to turn back now."

The evil FireClan leader hissed in alarm as more StarClan cats surrounded him. His tabby fur was fluffed out in fright, but his amber eyes were still narrowed in defiance. "W-What the hell is happening here?!" he snarled. "What is this magic?!"

Squirrelflight appeared by his side and growled, "You scared? Good. 'Cause you better get ready for what's coming to you." Then she disappeared quickly before Darkstar tried to bite her, being replaced by Goldenstripe, who stared up at him through unwavering pale blue eyes.

"Darkstar...a soul filled with justice is very heavy," the AirClan elder rasped. "We continue to live on in the hearts of those who are not only with good blood, but also those who are pure in spirit. You have none of these, sadly. Therefore, it is you who shall fall today."

Yellowfang nodded. "And it shall be the last of his kind that will triumph...with us by his side. Now Goldwing..." she added, giving Darkstar a scornful glare. "...show him how a true warrior can fight."

The StarClan cats turned to Goldwing, Firestar in the lead, as they all nodded and disappeared. With new hope in his head, the bleeding golden cat turned to face Darkstar, who was backing away now in pure fear. But that fear was replaced by anger as the Tiger Lord swiped his paw in an arc at Goldwing, who calmly swiped at his paw and making him back off. As if that wasn't enough, that caused the large burst of flame to be directed to the air, making Darkstar gaze on in shock and fear.

Goldwing made several gestures around his head and lashed his paws out, AirBending and forcing Darkstar back violently by the air. The dark tabby was rolling and colliding against the ground like a freshly killed rabbit, his back scraping against a stone pillar and grimacing in pain. He managed to land in a crouch behind a mist of smoke, but Goldwing (scenting his blood) saw him and leapt forth, a sphere of air circling around him.

Recalling Bearclaw's fire training, he FireBended with a roar through his mouth and FireBended out of his limbs and tail as well, looking like a star. The sphere moved up towards the sky, and Darkstar was hissing and struggling against the stinging air pressure as the pillars crumble from the wind. Goldwing felt pure power rush through his blood and from his ears to the tips of his claws while the fire circled and tightened around the sphere; he felt all the spirits of StarClan in him now.

At the same time, pieces of earth from the ground beneath Goldwing and remaining water from the ocean floor slowly made their way towards the sphere. The fire streams gathered and formed a revolving ring near the center outside of the sphere. The pieces of earth flew up, and Goldwing unsheathed his claws to Bend them into a smaller size and fly to the sphere. A wide circle of air was revolving below him, and water was slowly swirling above the air circle.

With a heavenly yowl, Goldwing Bended the earth into a northwest position around him inside the sphere. The water was getting Bended into a northeast position inside the sphere as well, and the various elements continued to orbit around him as he did so. He looked back down to the earth to see Darkstar looking from behind a large rock, his fiery amber eyes widening in shock at the lethal sphere of elements.

Goldwing was ready.

**...**

Two columns of fire were shot upwards from behind some houses in an empty courtyard as the ground shook and a sinkhole formed. Rockstar pounced out from the hole, looking around and making a commenting grunt. He saw five FireClan tanks roll in, and one started to FireBend from the opening. Rockstar flicked his skinny tail to raise a protective wall of earth and Bended several chunks of earth from the ground, kicking them towards the tanks. The tank opened up to FireBend at the pale gray tom, but it got quickly cut off by a lump of rock that Rockstar slammed against the opening.

The adjacent tank started to FireBend but suffered the same fate, as did their drivers. Rockstar made several EarthBending movements with his forelegs and started to stand on his hind legs, raising three columns of earth from beneath the tanks and throwing them up. He saw a tank that had been turned over like a turtle as more tanks got stacked on each other. The base opening of the topmost tank opened to reveal a bloodied orange tabby who moaned with discomfort. The other warriors also came out of the tanks, not looking unscathed either.

Irontail stood in front of the EarthClan leader's palace, watching as the FireClan symbol was replaced by an EarthClan banner. A wave of water and a column of fire burst out from some houses behind him, symbolizing the unity of the remaining Clans. Taking a breath, the old gray tabby swiped his flaming claws at the banner, and it caught on fire. He smiled as the banner burned away to reveal the EarthClan symbol.

"Comrades!" Irontail yowled to the cats who came to see this. "We have done it! BoulderClan is free at last!"

"BoulderClan! BoulderClan!" the cats of the Order yowled with AvatarClan.

_BoulderClan, you are free at last. May StarClan banish all evil from your nest._

**...**

Using the Battouga once again, Goldwing hurtled down towards Darkstar, striking him on the shoulder. Darkstar was carried by it for a short distance before Goldwing used AirBending to blow him away. He swiftly flew into the air after the evil FireClan leader, who groaned in pain and looked ahead as his shoulder bled. Goldwing's sphere finally caught up to him, but Darkstar scrambled away from the sphere with FireBending. His stream of fire moved away from the sphere as it suddenly moved up towards the sky. Despite already having used the Battouga, Goldwing did not feel tired; this was probably due to being in the Avatar Cat State.

High in the air, he started making gestures with his forelegs. The pieces of earth inside the sphere got broken apart into small earth bullets, and he sent the earth bullets towards the rock columns, creating a huge plume of smoke. A small stream of fire flew away from the top of the smoke, and with a yowl, Goldwing ran forth, claws unsheathed and blood coating his fur.

_Darkstar, here I come!_

**...**

Back at the ceremonial plaza in FireClan, Silverheart looked back at Bearclaw, who was lying on the blood-covered ground. Some small fires were scorching the ground around him as blood continued pouring from his wound. Just when she saw the dark tabby struggling to get up, she looked to the side and gasped. She swerved to the side and ran over to him, panting from all the shock and horror she had experienced. Once she got to him, she Bended a water glove around her paw...before blue fire engulfed around them.

Silverheart leapt to the side as the fire cleared to reveal Frostfire laughing violently and leaping forth, charging up with lightning. She was startled to see her this insane, so she leapt away from the rogue. The WaterClan warrior ran around the perimeter of the plaza, narrowly missing the lightning that lashed out towards her and sidestepping away from the impact. She turned back as Frostfire hurled herself onto the roof, glaring down at her through crazed blood-red eyes.

"I'd really rather our family doctor look after Teddy if you don't mind!" Frostfire cackled as Silverheart got to her paws, bleeding from her chest. She did not have any time to figure out why she called him Teddy, for she looked up to see the black she-cat making a new arc of lightning with her tail.

At this, she sent the powerful bolt of lightning out at her, but Silverheart blocked the attack quickly with WaterBending. Frostfire was baring her teeth in rage as she sent two blasts of fire with her claws. Silverheart ended up running and hiding behind a pillar, narrowly missing her attacks again. Another fire blast hit the pillar, and Silverheart cringed, closing her eyes and crouching low.

_StarClan, why did this have to happen? _she prayed to her warrior ancestors. She did not want to see her friend die, yet she was being kept from healing him by Frostfire. This battle had turned out to be bad, but she could not flee in order to help Bearclaw. So she opened her eyes and looked out at the burning battlefield from behind the pillar.

"You don't look so good, Teddy!" Frostfire cackled from the roof, glaring down at her older brother. "Let me fix that for you!"

Horror surged through Silverheart's mind as Frostfire charged up with lightning and sent out a bolt. She ran out from behind this pillar to hide behind another pillar as the lightning destroyed the previous pillar. Silverheart stared in shock at the destroyed pillar, but she got an idea: she would have to actually face Frostfire to defeat her. If so, then she could go back to helping Bearclaw.

_Now's not the time to run and hide. Now's the time for action._

So she leapt forth and Bended a stream of water from a nearby fountain. She Bended the water towards the roof, but Frostfire leapt away and down towards her with her brother's blood on her claws. Realizing she needed to do something else, Silverheart Bended a wave of water from the same fountain while Frostfire continued to stalk behind her closely and let out deranged hisses. Silverheart surfed towards her, but a fire blast evaporated the water, yet she still had enough to continue surfing. Frostfire dropped to the ground in a roll and FireBended wildly towards her, but she got away in time besides being swiped on the shoulder.

Silverheart stumbled onto some drains inside the plaza and looked down at the drain while the wall of fire dissipated behind her. There was the sound of flowing water inside the drain as she looked down at the rich water source. Memories of catching her first foes when she was an apprentice out of camp came to her mind. If her freezing attack could work on Bearclaw's past Clanmates, then it could work on Frostfire.

Deciding on what to do, the silver tabby grabbed the chain in her jaws and ran forth. But Frostfire saw her, baring her yellow fangs and hissing, "There you are, filthy little bitch!"

Silverheart narrowed her eyes with determination and stared back into Frostfire's eyes, which narrowed with hate. With a yowl, she sent a few streams of water towards Frostfire, who dodged them and rolled across the drain. She stalked closer towards the black cat as she attempted to stand up and lashed her paw out. Yet Silverheart easily swiped the paw away with her claws, feeling them cut on her pads.

When Frostfire was finally on the spot, Silverheart began Bending water from the drain, freezing their movements. Frostfire stared on, astonished, as her eyes darted around but was unable to move. Silverheart had leaned back, Frostfire's claws a few kit-steps away from her face, and exhaled, and the ice around her body melted into water as she proceeded to chain Frostfire's neck and forelegs together. She swam through the water, chaining her remaining legs and finally slashing at her face with her claws. Finally, she wrapped the chains around the drain gratings and WaterBended the water back to the drain.

Once the water flowed away, the two she-cats coughed and gasped for air, their fur slick and wet. Silverheart grabbed the chains in her jaws and tightened them so that she could not escape before running over to Bearclaw, who groaned in pain. She crouched by his side, turning him over so the lightning wound was facing her; the fur around the wound site got burnt off, and blood was still flowing out. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her paw against the wound and looked away, praying to StarClan that he was all right.

Just then, she heard coughing as she opened her eyes and looked over at Bearclaw. A smile of relief came across her face as she looked down at him. The dark brown tabby tom was smiling weakly yet gratefully up at her. The bleeding had finally stopped as he sat up to meet her gaze.

"S-Silverheart...thank you so much..." Bearclaw rasped, coughing a bit.

"I should be the one thanking you," Silverheart purred, nuzzling his cheek with her nose as she felt tears in her eyes.

As she helped him get unsteadily to his paws, she heard a hiss of anger behind her. Frostfire was exhaling uncontrollably and breathing fire from her mouth. She was flailing around as if she was caught in a net and continued to breathe out fire at the drain. Finally, as the two cats looked on, the former deputy of FireClan landed on her side, breaking down completely and sobbing in a screeching way. Her black fur was now coated with her blood, and several whiskers and tufts of fur were now missing.

Bearclaw was looking down at his sister with an expressionless face while Silverheart looked up at him and looked away. She could not stand to continue seeing Frostfire whimper and flail around on the ground. Of course Frostfire was a heartless and chaotic she-cat, but she did not deserve this kind of pain.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Darkstar continued the fleeing as he leapt from rock pillar to rock pillar. Goldwing flicked his tail while bringing two pillars together, and Darkstar stopped in front of the pillars and changed direction. But Goldwing twisted his body around, and the dark brown tabby leapt away but got hit by a blast of water. The water flowed off, revealing Darkstar as he pressed himself against the pillar and looked up.

Goldwing broke the top part of the pillar, descending towards Darkstar as he turned back and swiped his claws at him. The evil leader pounced away with his paws and claw stretched out towards him, preparing to fight back just in case. The Bending sphere crashed into the ground as he brought more chunks of earth with him. Darkstar leapt to behind a pillar, landed, and swiped fire claws at him. Goldwing brought another two pillars together to block Darkstar's attack and then proceeded to EarthBend the pillars into a cross shape.

Darkstar leapt away as Goldwing turned in his sphere and stopped in a stance with his tail up. Five streams of fire came out from the revolving circle of fire and chased him around the pillars. Darkstar stopped in front of them and had realized a stream of fire coming up from behind him, so he hared away. The fire stream hit a pillar he was on, and Goldwing landed on a nearby pillar with his paws and held his tail up.

Darkstar sent three streams of fire towards Goldwing, who countered them with three streams of water and a gust of air from his sphere. The water and air seized the flames and circled around them until they went out. The strong gust of air hit Darkstar in the belly, and he got flung to a pillar, which collapsed as Goldwing went after him.

While on the chase, Goldwing knocked down a pillar, gained up on Darkstar, and knocked down another pillar. Darkstar changed direction, and Goldwing followed, knocking another pillar down again. He saw the evil cat look back fearfully, gasp, and desperately try to get out of the way. But Goldwing moved his forelegs around in a circular motion in front of his body, clenching his jaw with anger. He stomped his paw down, and a loop of water curled around his foreleg and crept up to his body, creeping up to his head. Darkstar looked terrified while he was pulled back by the water.

Goldwing Bended the loop around and threw Darkstar towards some thorns, making him crawl out and soaking him. He descended towards him and sank his claws to the ground while his foe gasped in horror at seeing his paws being encased in mounds of earth. When he was fully trapped, Goldwing padded forth, feeling his white arrow stripes glowing once again, making Darkstar reek of fear scent.

"_Darkstar of FireClan!"_ Goldwing roared with the voices of the former Avatar Cats mixed in. _"You, Thistlestar, and Shadowstar have devastated the balance of this world! You shall pay the ultimate price!"_

He swiped his paws around as a stream of fire interlaced with water, air and rocks extended out like a snake. Goldwing watched the elemental stream as it rapidly descended, and Darkstar's eyes widened before they closed. His arrow stripes stopped glowing, and the elemental stream fell apart. Water and blood dripped from Darkstar's face while he looked up, surprised.

Goldwing shook his head as his stripes and eyes ceased their glowing. No matter how much he was beating Darkstar, he still did not want to kill him to end the war. If he killed Darkstar, all the things he believed in would fade away forever. He flicked his tail up to break apart the earth piles pinning Darkstar's paws down and struggling to get to his paws.

"No...I won't end it like this," Goldwing sighed, looking away.

"Even with all the power in the world, you are still weak." Goldwing turned to see a sneer coming across Darkstar's face. "But for your bravery, let me award you...with THIS!"

At this, he began to move forth, but Goldwing knew what he was going to do. Letting out a yowl, he leapt forth to perform another Battouga, spinning around in circles. But to his horror, Darkstar leapt to the side, and Golding (tired already from the battle) could not stop the attack. It looked like the battle was going to go wrong after all. But just when he thought of this, an amazing thing happened.

The wind started to blow, distracting Darkstar from giving a victory gloat. This made Goldwing feel more confident as he directed his Battouga back at him, letting out a screech of "DARKSTAR! THIS BATTOUGA ISN'T DEAD YET!" When he made it back, he sank his fangs into Darkstar's face and sank his claws into his cheeks to prevent an escape. And finally, he let go and watched Darkstar roar in pain, his left ear torn off.

Goldwing recalled the training Nightfoot taught him in EarthBending and let his hind paws touch the ground, feeling all the sound waves in the earth. Then he stuck a hind paw down behind him and EarthBended a mini rock wall that directed Darkstar's tail up so that the flames wouldn't hit him. He leapt back and trapped Darkstar's paw in the rock wall, trapping that in a rocky mound as well. Goldwing leapt forth at him and sank his teeth and claws into his face again as Darkstar tries to FireBend out of his mouth but he sent out a gust of air to dispel the flames. He felt his strongest claw graze across his forehead while his left paw touched his neck.

Suddenly, he heard Firestar's voice in his mind again as he felt his claw root themselves in place. His ancestor's voice was clear as he spoke.

"_In the era before the Avatar Cat__**,**__ we Bend not the elements but the energy within ourselves, in our hearts and minds,"_ Firestar's voice meowed. _"Use that energy now."_

So Goldwing lifted his head, and white light streamed out from his eyes and mouth, streaming on endlessly. Black light streamed out of Darkstar's eyes and mouth until they mingled together. This was it...the ultimate move at its fullest.

The pillar beneath the two cats rumbled and shook, but Goldwing didn't notice. White light covered his entire head and traveled down his entire body while black light traveled down from Darkstar's head towards his entire body as well. Half of the burned and blood-covered battlefield was completely filled with white light while the other half was filled with black light.

As Darkstar's black light covered Goldwing's paws and traveled to his shoulders, he heard Firestar's voice meow, _"To Bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be tainted and destroyed."_ He felt the black light cover his body and travel up his shoulders to his head, hearing Firestar finish, _"Do not allow this to happen. You are the light of the world. Shine with all your might!"_

But Goldwing could hardly breathe as the dark light slowly covered his entire head. The area was almost covered with black light, and the remaining beam of white light slowly diminished. One of his eyes continued to stream white light, but it was rapidly fading away into black light.

_We are with you...until the end._

Hearing Silverheart's voice gave his strength back as he bit down harder. Goldwing felt white light covering his head and diminishing the evil black light that threatened to swallow him up. The white light moved through his body and into Darkstar's body in a second before lighting up the entire area. A single beam of white light shot up towards the sky and hit the clouds to form a circle. The beam of the white-blue light widened some more before finally fading away. Eight outlines of dark tabbies came out of him and disappeared, which meant that all of his lives except the last one had been stripped away.

Goldwing staggered a bit, tired from all the wounds he received from the battle before looking back at Darkstar. Bearclaw's father was struggling to sit up and lashed his paw out, but nothing happened, so he fell back to the ground.

"What...what the hell did you do to me?" Darkstar rasped, blood dripping from his forehead and into his eyes.

"I took away your Bending and eight of your nine lives," Goldwing told him, standing before him. "You won't use your Bending to hurt or threaten anyone else ever again."

He turned towards the burning forest, the animals of the woods looking astonished and worried. Goldwing raised himself to his haunches before he felt his arrow stripes and eyes glow once more. As he opened his eyes, he could hear the voices of his warrior ancestors in Silverpelt, Firestar at the lead.

_We are with you, Goldwing. StarClan is with you._

With renewed strength, he lifted his forepaws up towards the sky, and water flooded the whole area, dousing the fires and the burning airships. More water flooded into the area, covering the trees from top to toe as the fire dissipated. Finally, the last of the water flooded the entire area, quenching the remaining flames. The water evaporated in the air, and Goldwing got back down to his paws, watching what he had done.

Below, all the animals that had fled from the fire and seen the battle cheered. Tobi flew up from a group of barn owls and landed on Goldwing's shoulder, who joined him at looking out at the calm forest.

_It's over, _Goldwing thought, panting as he felt blood drip from his mouth. _Darkstar is defeated._

He was triumphant!

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

A roar above his head made him look at the meteor, which was blazing by; FireClan was now beaten, so they had no more use for the meteor. Goldwing was too tired to eat, to drink, and to play with the animals of the forest. What he wanted now was a deep sleep to heal his body...and Silverheart to be by his side.

He turned around to see an airship wedged on top of the rock pillars. To his amazement, he saw Echo, Ashfeather, and Nightfoot walk past the platform onto the pillar. Ashfeather appeared to be limping, but his blue eyes were still filled with pride. Nightfoot and Echo were supporting him by the shoulders, and Goldwing was happier than ever to see his friends.

"You did it!" Ashfeather cheered, limping away from both she-cats to him. "You should've seen yourself; it was amazing! You were all like, 'pshoom, pfoom, pfoom, phish, whoo!'" He made swiping gestures as he went on, "And then Darkstar was all like..." And at that, he made some pretend choking noises.

Echo looked back at Darkstar, curious at seeing the bloody leader slumped against a rock. "So did you...you know...finish the job?"

"I'm still alive, you know," Darkstar spat weakly, glaring up at her.

At this, Echo leapt away.

Goldwing looked around at his friends. "I learned there was another way to defeat him and restore balance. I took his Bending and eight of his lives away."

"Wow," Nightfoot meowed, looking as surprised at the other two. "Who taught you that?"

"Firestar," Goldwing replied sensibly. "He was my ancestor, and I met him on a blue whale."

Nightfoot stared at him in surprise, her mouth hanging open like a fish. Finally, she muttered, "You have the most screwed-up adventures when you disappear."

Goldwing shrugged and looked back at Ashfeather, who had limped over to Darkstar with a smirk on his face. "Well, look at you, punk," he meowed. "Now that your FireBending's gone, I think we should call you...Loserstar!"

"...n-no...!" Darkstar hissed at him, making a helpless swipe at him. "I am the Tiger Lord!"

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to offend you," Nightfoot joined in. "We meant to call you Tiger Lord of Getting His Ass Whipped!"

"Yeah," Echo added, stepping forth. "Or how about Darkstar, Leader of...the Clan...that doesn't, um...win?"

Darkstar simply blinked, closed his mouth, and opened it again. It seems he had temporarily lost control of his body.

Finally, Nightfoot meowed, "Leave the nicknames to us, sweet cheeks."

**...**

When they had gotten over to FireClan, Goldwing was happy to see Silverheart again. Despite the wounds she received from Frostfire, she was okay...and even kinder and more beautiful than ever. He had finally confessed his love to her, and she responded by just licking his cheek. He supposed she had also loved him back. As for Bearclaw, he was okay other than having a scar on his belly now, much like the one he got from BoulderClan.

But today...was when Bearclaw would become leader of FireClan. Everyone had gone over to the FireClan capital the next day, the roofs of some houses singed and destroyed during the final Agni Kai. Goldwing watched Bearclaw in his room, standing near the windows as the morning sunlight streamed in. He was putting on a cape, but he appeared to have some difficulty fitting it around his chest.

"You need help with that?"

He looked up in time, surprised, and Goldwing looked around to see who it was. Rose, the dark tortoiseshell she-cat with the knives, was leaning against the doorway, purring as she padded over to Bearclaw.

"Rose! You're okay!" Bearclaw yelped, running forth to nuzzle her face. "They let you out of prison?"

"My uncle decided it was time he pulled some strings," Rose replied, fitting the cape over his neck. She laid a forepaw on his cheek as she purred, "And it doesn't hurt when the new leader of FireClan is your mate."

Bearclaw stared back at her, overjoyed. "So this means you don't hate me anymore?"

The dark tortoiseshell blushed. "No. I don't hate you, Bearclaw. I think it means...I actually like you." They nuzzled each other for a full minute before she pulled back, smiling. But then she grew partly serious as she jabbed her paw at his chest, meowing, "But don't you ever break up with me again. Ever."

Bearclaw just smiled goofily before they embraced once again. Goldwing smiled over at them before padding away and looking out the front window. Already, loads of cats and other creatures had gathered outside in front of the coronation altar. When he had seen Bearclaw and Rose embrace, they reminded him of Silverheart and himself...if they ever became mates.

Meanwhile, the crowd had already gathered in front of the coronation platform. Friends and family were finally being reunited. The Dude was embracing the taller Nightfoot while Tiny, The Boulder, and the Warthog watched on in pride. Brindleheart had finally reunited with his father, who was telling him how proud he was of his son. And the swamp cats parted as the WaterClan siblings padded past them and looked around the crowd, Ashfeather limping with bandages on his broken leg. They had found who they were looking for.

"Dad!" both WaterClan siblings cheered as they ran over (limped over for Ashfeather) to Emberstar.

The dark gray tom turned his head towards his kits' voices and purred when he caught sight of them. The siblings also smiled as they padded over to him and gave him a big hug.

Emberstar greeted them with this as he looked around at them both: "I heard what you two did in the final battle. I am the proudest father in the world now...I am so proud of both of you. And your mother in StarClan would be so proud of you too."

Hearing this, Silverheart nodded and touched her necklace with her paw, tears forming in her eyes. It meant a lot that Emberstar said this; Seamist would really be proud of her kits. She and Ashfeather had struggled hard in their lives during the war, and it was over at last.

They looked over to the side to see Echo In Quiet Storm arriving with the Tribe cats flanking her. She was back in her red tabby pelt with white splashes, her blue-green eyes shining brightly.

"There's my favorite island-guards!" Ashfeather purred, limping over to them. "I have to admit, I kinda missed the face paint. How does it feel to be back in that uniform again?"

"It feels great!" A white she-cat had leapt forth, purring. But there was something about her voice that seemed too odd...someone Silverheart had been afraid of before.

Ashfeather was thinking the same thing, for he limped in between them and hissed, "Watch out, Echo! Aya's pretending to be a Tribe cat again!"

"Ashfeather, it's okay," Echo told him. "She's one of us now."

The dark gray tabby tom's jaw dropped when he heard this.

Aya nodded. "Yeah, we really bonded in prison. After I showed them a few Chi blocking lessons, they said I could join their Tribe. And Roseteller will give me my Tribe name." She stood in between two Tribe cats and placed her forepaws on their shoulders, pulling them a bit closer. "We're gonna be best friends forever!"

Back inside the palace, Goldwing was meditating. He was wearing new monk robes and a necklace similar to Goldenstripe's. He was still sad that his beloved mentor was gone, but thanks to winning the war, the golden tabby would be in peace now. Not just him, but his Clan was in peace now.

When he opened his eyes, Bearclaw was standing in front of the curtains. He turned back to meow, "I can't believe a year ago, my purpose in life was hunting you down and regaining my honor, and now..."

"And now we're friends," Goldwing purred.

"Yeah...friends."

Goldwing stood up to face him. "I can't believe I was still frozen in a block of ice just a year ago. The world and its Clans are so different now."

Bearclaw stepped forth and laid a gentle tail on his flank. "And when we rebuild it together, it's gonna be even more different. And I welcome it."

So the two toms hugged and separated as Bearclaw parted the curtains and padded through them. Goldwing followed shortly after and saw the crowd below. They were arranged into four groups: Swamp cats, EarthClan, WaterClan, and the reformed FireClan. The Fire Elder Sages (Redspots finally included) rang the gong, and Bearclaw padded over to them as they bowed in respect. He looked back at the crowd and held his head high.

"Do not thank just me," he told everyone. "The real hero, the one who deserves all the praise, is Avatar Cat Goldwing, descendant of Firestar."

Nightfoot and The Dude were sitting on Warthog and Tiny's massive shoulders respectively as all four of them cheered wildly. Goldwing padded forth and scanned the crowd, unable to keep a purr from rising in his throat. Before him, Silverheart was watching on, a joyful smile on her face when she saw him. Unknowingly to him, she watched the young tom she loved stand with the new FireClan leader, ready to change the world.

"Today, this war is over," Bearclaw announced, bringing more cheers. "I promised my uncle Irontail that I would restore FireClan's honor, and I will. The road ahead of us is testing and difficult. Fourteen years of fighting has left the world damaged and on bad terms." He and Goldwing shared smiled as he purred, "But with the Avatar Cat's help, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of peace and love."

Beside them, Redspots was holding the leader's crown in his jaws before padding to the new leader and bowing down. He finally put the crown in place as he purred, "Tomorrow at sundown, Bearclaw will go to the spiritual place in FireClan to receive his nine lives and leader name. May your leadership be filled with pride, dignity, certainty, and faith."

Finally, unable to contain himself, Goldwing let out a yowl. "Bearstar! Bearstar!"

"Bearstar! Bearstar!" the crowd chanted in cheer. "Bearstar! Bearstar!"

Bearstar lifted his head up as the red-furred tom backed away, keeping his head bowed. He looked at Goldwing and flicked his tail to him to join him. The Avatar Cat padded over to him and joined him in letting out divine yowls to the heavens. They looked at each other briefly before looking back at the crowd, who were yowling and roaring the same.

The war was finally over. Peace had arrived at last.

**...**

But there was one more thing for Bearstar to do.

He was padding alone on the rocky path leading to the crater in the FireClan capital to the outer barrier of the prison tower. It was time for answers to be revealed, and he was sure his prisoner would be able to cooperate. So, taking a deep breath, the new leader of FireClan pushed the door open and made his way in.

The dark tabby tom padded along the corridor inside the prison and paused outside a door for a second before pushing it. There was Darkstar, his wounds covered in rags and leaning against the wall of his cell. When Bearstar arrived, he saw his father's once-fierce amber eyes glance to the side at the shadow.

"I should be lucky," he spat in disgust. "The new leader of FireClan has graced me with his presence in my lonely prison cell."

"Be lucky that the Avatar Cat spared your life. He is a merciful cat." As Darkstar looked away with a grunt, his son went on, "Sending me into exile was the best thing you have ever done for my life. It put me on the right path, and I hope your time in here can do the same for you."

Darkstar did not react. Instead, he growled, "Why are you really here?"

Bearstar stepped forth and hissed, "Because you are going to tell me something, and you will tell me the truth. Now...where is my mother?"

**...**

A quarter-moon had passed since the end of the war, and peace had truly come over the land. To celebrate, everyone went over to BoulderClan to hang out at Irontail's cream shop, the now-famous Emerald Griffin. Irontail himself was playing a low horn, making a beautiful sound with the golden instrument_. _Goldwing looked up from playing with Tobi to see the FireClan tanks his old friend Rockstar stacked with an EarthClan flag planted right at the top. Two kits were on opposite sides of the tank structure passing a ball to and fro with EarthBending.

He looked around at everyone in the shop and felt his heart swell with happiness to his friends. Irontail was indeed playing a horn, Archie looking at him through the window. Bearstar (who had already received his nine lives and his true leader name) was helping his uncle serve cream, purring with a smile on his face as he went to get the next order. Nightfoot was that customer, laying her hind paws on the table as she accepted the bowl of cream. Goldwing himself was levitating a ball of moss in the air with AirBending and watched as Tobi tried to snatch it from the air.

Ashfeather was writing something with a calligraphy brush, and Rose and Echo were playing Pai Sho with Silverheart watching on. Bearstar came forth with his cream tray, and Silverheart politely took a bowl from there. All of them were wearing green EarthClan capes, and they all looked like they were having a great time. Goldwing could not be more proud of his friends than he already was.

"Stop moving! I'm trying to capture the moment!" Ashfeather was sitting at a table, his face now softening as he carried on with his work. "Sorry, Bearstar, but I just wanted to do a painting so that we always remember the good times together."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Silverheart purred to her brother. But when she looked down, she had a blank look on her face as she meowed, "Hold on. You gave me Tobi's feathers. Why'd you give me the wings of a hawk?"

"Those are your tabby stripes," Ashfeather told her.

Goldwing padded over to check it out and held back a laugh. Silverheart's tabby stripes did look like the wings of a hawk, Nightfoot was drawn more like a black tiger than a cat, and Bearstar was given the spiky mane of a lion. Echo, Bearstar, and Rose also padded over to check on the drawing, hearing the siblings argue. When they looked down at the painting, they were far from amused.

"At least you don't look like a hedgehog," Bearstar meowed, frowning back down at the picture. "I mean, look at that. My fur's not spiky!"

The new FireClan leader had been drawn next to an angry Rose, and Ashfeather had been drawn next to a FireBending Echo, holding his head up high with his sword in his jaws. Goldwing was drawn on Archie's head, and Irontail looked like a large-bellied badger laughing heartily. So far, Ashfeather had looked like he was the only one drawn normally...other than Goldwing and Archie, that is.

"I look like a tomcat," Rose grumbled.

"And why'd you paint me FireBending?" Echo added.

"I just thought it'd look more exciting that way," her mate told her.

Tobi landed on the table with a mouse in his talons, cawing.

Ashfeather glared in mock outrage at the hawk. "Oh, so you think YOU can do a better job?"

"Hey, come on!" Irontail purred cheerfully as he laid a paw down on the table. "I'm not that big now! I've been keeping fit."

"Well, you all look good to me!" Nightfoot spoke up.

This caused all the cats in the cream shop (except Ashfeather, who grumbled about no one liking his picture) to laugh and purr. Goldwing purred the loudest as he turned around; a breath of fresh air was all he needed now that the War was done. So he rose from his spot and padded over to the door, looking back to see no one following him. With a nod towards the door, he bowed his head and went on through.

Outside, sunset had fallen over the horizon, the sky turning into a beautiful swirl of orange and pink. The cry of an eagle was heard above Goldwing's head as a massive golden eagle flew off towards the setting sun. Now...peace had come at last over the Clans of the world.

Suddenly, something in the sky caught Goldwing's eye as he looked up. He could see a feline face appear in the clouds, and he recognized the face right away. It was the face of the cat who had stayed with him in spirit during the final battle with Darkstar. The bright green eyes were recognizable by the way they glowed with gentleness and pride.

"Firestar?"

The legendary leader nodded. "Goldwing...not only the Clans, but StarClan too thanks you for all you have done during these moons of war. You have struggled through the moons of despair and war, and you were the light that shone through the darkness. You were the next fire to save the Clans, the light to bring the Clans out of the dark, and the savior of this world. May StarClan grant you many moons of peace and joy."

Goldwing felt happy tears well up in his eyes as he nodded up at Firestar. "Thank you, Firestar. I am proud to be your descendant."

Once again, his ancestor nodded before disappearing in a swirl of stars.

Joy filled Goldwing's heart as Firestar's words rang inside his head. His ancestor was right; Goldwing had struggled for peace as a kit in the Southern AirClan camp, an apprentice after his Clan was wiped out, and as a warrior to save the world. His Clan was gone, but at long last, he was in peace. His Clan was in peace. The _world_ was in peace.

Goldwing turned around as a small meow made him turn around. Silverheart had padded over to him and sat down next to him as she looked up at the sky; it seemed she had seen Firestar's spirit appear in the clouds. When Goldwing turned to look at her in time, she was looking over at him, a small smile on her face and her dark blue eyes shining with love.

She was his one true love. She had proved herself to be a great warrior on their travels through the world; her courage, kindness, and beauty had won him over in the end. Goldwing could not begin to think what he would do without her, so he padded over to Silverheart and embraced her, her doing the same. Her fur was so soft, and her heart was so kind and gentle. He felt like wanting to stay like this forever.

_Till we find our place_

_On the path unwinding_

Then...as they broke apart, she leaned back towards him and started rubbing her cheek against his. Surprised yet overcome with joy, Goldwing returned the gesture with a fiercer and more passionate love. He could hear his heart say "I love you" as he breathed in her sweet scent and relished in the softness of her fur.

And as if she could hear it say it out loud, Silverheart murmured, "I love you too, Goldwing."

_In the Circle_

_The Circle of Life_

Their future could not be any brighter. All was well.

_Circle of...Life!_

_**(The End)**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: ...we did it. We finally did it. It's over.**

**Katara: Thank the spirits above. It's been nearly three years since you've started this series. Aang and I are so proud of you, Avatar Cat. (Kisses his cheek)**

**Aang: (Comes over and shakes his hand) This was one great series. I'm glad we all got to read the entire thing. You wanna say the final review thing for the FanFic?**

**AvatarCat12: I will. (To the readers) For the final time on this FanFic, we all ask of you to read and review. We will give you a virtual plush doll or figurine of your favorite character from Avatar: The Last AirBender. Cat or human form is welcome. No flames on here, or we WILL use them for making S'Mores, but we allow constructive criticism.**

**Aang: And finally, here's a list of the people who had reviewed this FanFic so far. So thank you all, everyone!**

_**Sunheart13, fanfic meister, The Great Detective Mei, and Guest**_

**Katara: Once more, thank you all!**

**All three: SEE YA NEXT TIME! AND MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS!  
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	22. Epilogue

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone! I've come to a major decision. I know I already said that I've put an end to this story, but a review said they wanted to see the epilogue. So I've decided to give them that epilogue.**

**Katara: And the review said that they wanted to see when the cat forms of my children are born. I can't wait to see it, Wildstar!**

**Wildstar93: Me neither. And for the rest of you out there, you can see that I changed my username to an entirely different name now. From now on, call me Wildstar93...Wildstar for short. So you all know the disclaimer here. I won't say it here, but you all know what I don't own from the past chapters.**

**Katara: And he doesn't own They Live In You; it belongs to The Lion King on Broadway, and this will be the reprise. So...we hope you all like this series so far.**

**Uploading Date: January 1, 2013**

**Enjoy the final chapter!**

**...**

_**A New Life**_

The chilly leaf-bare wind whipped around Goldstar as he prowled on the mountain path down to the ground. His paws brushed against fallen leaves, and he saw a few patches of snow here and there in certain places. The three-year-old tom stopped to take a deep breath before entering the grand United City, his pads resisting the recently-tarred Thunderpath.

It had been around three years since the defeat of Darkstar and his FireClan fleet. The former and evil leader of FireClan had died in his prison, alone and hateful. Goldstar himself had become the new leader of AirClan, the first AirClan leader in fourteen years. He and Bearstar had already made United City, a grand city where cats of all Clans could live together in peace and harmony. Twoleg aliens had arrived from another planet to help make buildings, and they and cats lived together with no fights. Back then, the Clans were apart...now, they lived together.

Goldstar had not gone too far into the city when he saw three kits run over to him. Their little tails were wiggling around, and their big eyes stared up at the Avatar Cat with awe.

"Mr. Goldstar, sir? Can we have your autograph?" the big tabby kit mewed as they held out books. These were books about the adventures AvatarClan went on.

"Autographs, eh?" Goldstar chuckled. He dipped his paw into white paint on a kit's back and planted three prints on one book each. "Here you go. Enjoy your day."

The kits mewled their thanks before leaping away. It warmed Goldstar's heart to see these kits enjoy a time of peace after fourteen years of war. But he knew he would not have long to live, for spending time in the White Stone for that long had shortened his lifespan, so he would only live to be nine years old. So until the day he would walk with StarClan, he would enjoy his life.

"It seems you have some fans."

Goldstar looked up at owner of the familiar voice. Silverheart, his kind and beautiful mate, was standing near a tree, looking amused. Her dark blue eyes were glittering with kindness, her silver tabby pelt was glowing in the late sunlight, and her swollen belly looked huge now, bulging with her unborn kits. Goldstar still could not believe this...he was going to be a father.

"Hey Silverheart," he purred, padding up to her and licking her cheek. "Shouldn't you be in the nursery with Nightfoot?"

Silverheart gave him a look of mock indignation. "I'm not helpless, you know. I'm just carrying your kits. Speaking of that..." She looked around at her belly. "...you wanna feel them?"

Goldstar nodded and pressed his nose to her stomach, purring, "Hey, kits. Daddy's here. Me and your Mommy can't wait to see you." Looking up at her, he meowed, "I know you'll be a great mother to these kits."

"Thanks," Silverheart replied, smiling as she rubbed her head under his chin. "And you'll be an excellent father."

This made the AirClan leader purr before licking his mate's ears as they padded down the road. They knew there were three kits inside her. Along the way, they could see some horses waiting patiently outside of buildings alongside some carts and even dogs walking with their Twolegs. Things were looking up now, and Goldstar knew that Whitestorm would not approve. He had split himself away from the white-furred Avatar Cat after he scolded him for not fulfilling a certain promise. But still, it felt so nice.

Up ahead, he saw the ferry starting to leave for AirClan Island, an island Goldstar made with Nightfoot for the AirClan disciples to live peacefully. Goldstar and Silverheart saw Bearstar and the new leader of the Southern WaterClan, Ashfeather, boarding it before the first two hurried over. When the latter two met them, they gave purrs of greetings.

"Hey, you two!" Ashfeather called. "You guys got any hunting done?"

Silverheart shook her head. "Nah. We decided to just take a walk. Besides, I'm sure there's plenty of prey on the island."

"And besides," Goldstar meowed, turning to Bearstar. "Are there any rebellions in your Clan?"

Bearstar shook his head. "None so far, thankfully. Ever since Shellstorm apologized for trying to assassinate me, things have done good for her and her family...and the Clan too. We still have a lot to do, though."

Ashfeather nodded. "Yeah. It won't be easy, but we can do it."

Goldstar added, "And we can do it together." Right when he said this, Silverheart padded over to him, pressing her enlarged stomach against his lean side.

"I'm so proud of you, Goldstar. You and the others have truly made this city a cat's paradise," the WaterClan queen purred to her mate, rubbing her cheek against his. Then suddenly...she crouched low, making a painful grunt.

"Silverheart?" The golden tom ran over to her side, worried for her. "What's wrong?"

Silverheart stared up at him with glazed eyes. "Goldstar...kits...coming...!"

Goldstar shared a look with Bearstar and Ashfeather before looking back at her. "The kits are coming, Silverheart? Are you sure?"

His mate nodded before lying on her side, panting heavily. Goldstar could not believe it had come to this already: Silverheart was almost ready to give birth. He knew nothing about helping queens have their kits, but he wanted what was best for his mate.

"Guys, we need to get back to AirClan Island and fast," Goldstar told the other two toms. To Ashfeather, he asked, "You think you can get us there quickly?"

"Sure thing!" the dark gray tabby meowed, looking just as worried for his sister as him. He ran over to the front of the small ferry, meowing to the driver, "Move over, bub! My sister's in labor, and we need to go back to the island! Quick!"

So they ended up with a goofy cat on the wheel as he steered their way through the slightly windy bay, which was named after Moonfeather. After some more travelling, they finally made it to the island, where several white-tailed hawks (the old red-tailed hawk Tobi leading them) greeted them. Carefully, Goldstar and Bearstar shielded the groaning Silverheart on both sides as they padded down the boat. Goldstar felt his mate's kits kicking from the inside at his side, but he gave them and her comforting mews.

They had arrived at a special rock that gave way to a cave inside, and Goldstar knew what was in there. It was a special pool where he received his nine lives and leader name. The cats that gave him his nine lives were Goldenstripe, Seamist, Moonfeather, his mother, his father, Whitestorm, Rockstar, Spottedleaf, and Firestar.

"Hey, what's up with Sugar Queen?" Nightfoot had padded to them from the nursery building, her belly also swollen with kits. She was only a quarter-moon away from giving birth too.

"Silverheart's in labor," Goldstar told her as Echo padded up to them, her two kits following her. "Can you make a birthing nest for her?"

Nightfoot nodded, winking at him. "You can count on me, Twinkletoes. I may be pregnant too, but I'll do what I can."

At this, the black she-cat padded back inside and stomped a bit on the ground, grunting; Bending could be hard work on a pregnant queen. They could see an EarthBended tent out by the side of the Moonrock, named after the Moonstone of the ancient Clans. Ignoring the new Asian Lung dragons he found floating in the sky, Goldstar gently nudged Silverheart inside. The silver tabby cat padded over to the nest and laid down on her side right away.

"You need me to stay here with you?" Goldstar asked worryingly.

Silverheart smiled weakly from the pain. "Go on, Goldstar. I'll be fine."

Goldstar started to pad outside before looking back. "If you're sure..."

"I'm sure," she replied.

Giving a sigh, Goldstar padded outside and patiently waited.

As an hour went by, he felt himself start worrying all over again. What if Silverheart died giving birth to her kits? What if the kits died as soon as they were born? He did not want to lose both of them despite his duty to the world. There were plenty of duties to do for the world and lots of cats to help in bad times...but for now, Silverheart was his world to him.

Soon, Ashfeather came over to sit next to him, his pale blue eyes worried. Goldstar knew how protective he was over his sister, and he would probably attack the Avatar Cat if his sister or her kits suffered.

"Hey Goldstar," Ashfeather meowed. "You still nervous?"

"Yeah..." Goldstar admitted. "What if...what if Silverheart doesn't make it? What if the kits don't make it?"

Ashfeather gave him a slight stern look. "Don't think that, buddy. Don't you ever think of that. They'll be fine. I know they will. Still..." His eyes were now lit with joy. "I still can't believe I'm gonna be an uncle today! Exciting, isn't it?"

Goldstar nodded, recalling how the dark gray tabby had been nervous when Echo gave birth to her kits. It was so strange, for he had been the one to tell Ashfeather (who was panicking at the time) that Echo would be fine. Now it was the reverse way, but Goldstar didn't mind.

"Yeah, it will be." Nightfoot had come out, grunting as she laid down awkwardly on her side. "You gotta calm down, Twinkletoes, or you'll get ME nervous. We're with you and Silverheart no matter what."

Goldstar smiled at her. "Thanks, Nightfoot."

Soon enough, while the three cats sat outside, he heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey, you three. Is everything doing okay?"

All three turned to see Bearstar padding towards them. He had escorted a small group of cats with him: Emberstar, Volefoot, Rose (now Roseleaf), Aya (now Dove That Flies At Dawn), Snowstorm, and Rainbreeze. Emberstar, Snowstorm, and Rainbreeze were more worried and concerned for their granddaughter and daughter than the others were. Not to say that the others were uncaring, for they were caring very much.

_I hope Emberstar doesn't skin me if something bad happens, _Goldstar fretted privately. He knew Ashfeather told him that he wouldn't blame the young AirBender for his sister going into labor, and that was a relief. But now...he wasn't sure if his friend wasn't telling him the truth because of their father.

"Goldstar...we'll help you wait outside. I want to see my daughter okay with her kits beside her. That is a blessing for us all," the Southern WaterClan leader told his son-in-law, his odd blue eyes gentle.

The young Avatar Cat didn't need words to tell him anything, so he bowed to his fellow leader.

The other cats came forward and told him their own good-luck speeches (Rainbreeze telling him that she was glad to be a great-grandmother before going in to help Silverheart, for she had a lot of experience in helping laboring women) until it was time for Bearstar and Roseleaf's turn. Goldstar stopped while Irontail gave him a good-luck speech when he heard Rainbreeze murmur to Silverheart.

"That's right, my dear. Just push a little harder," he heard the old dark gray she-cat meow. "They're nearly out now."

"All...all right, Grandma," he heard his mate grunt as she pushed and gasped in pain. When he heard Bearstar call for him, the Avatar Cat turned around to hear a good-luck speech from the FireClan leader and his mate.

"I hope Silverheart does great with her kitting," the dark brown tabby told Goldstar, turning his golden gaze to him.

Goldstar dipped his head to him and replied, "Thank you...Sifu Hotcat," he added humorously, calling him by his nickname.

Bearstar looked a bit irate as he growled, "For the last time, stop calling me that!"

That little outburst caused everyone, even the usually poker-faced Roseleaf, to laugh and purr. The dark tortoiseshell she-cat wrapped her tail around her mate's tail reassuringly, which meant that Goldstar was only joking. This was enough for him to relax and laugh with everyone else. Goldstar was happy to have his friends and allies with him on this day; though Rainbreeze and Snowstorm would only have a few more moons left to live, they were happy about this too.

Finally, Echo came out, a smile on her face while Brightkit and Ravenkit followed her out. "I've got some good news, Goldstar," she purred.

"What is it?" Goldstar asked, getting up to his paws immediately. "Is Silverheart okay? Are the kits okay?"

"Calm down. She's fine," the red tabby queen meowed. "And she just gave birth to three very healthy kits. You're now the father of a daughter and two sons. Come and see them, everyone!"

Immediately, Goldstar ran past her and waited until Nightfoot let him inside. Echo stopped him to tell him that Silverheart had lost some blood while her delivery, but she was still okay and now feeding her kits. When he padded to the center of the makeshift rock den, he felt his heart expand and his mouth turn into a smile.

Silverheart was curled up in the soft nest of moss and flowers, her beautiful blue eyes tired from the kitting yet full of joy. And she had her back turned towards him, but she turned to give him the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen before turning to her belly. His paws feeling lighter than before, Goldstar padded over to see what the kits looked like. When he looked down, his heart beat even more than ever before.

Three kits were indeed suckling from her, their tiny paws kneading her belly as they let out small whimpers. The biggest kit had silver-gray fur like her minus the stripes, the middle kit had brown tabby fur, and the smallest kit looked just like him. What was more was that this kit had a tiny tuft of dark golden fur on the top of his fur. From the entrance of the den, the other cats were watching on in pride and joy. Goldstar felt his heart thud even faster...for he was a father now.

"Silverheart...they're beautiful. I'm so proud of you," Goldstar purred, rubbing his cheek against her head. "They're like you."

"And you," Silverheart purred back as the golden kit squealed up at his parents. She chewed a bit at a borage leaf to help her milk come as she meowed, "I want us to name our kits together. And I want to name the little silver she-cat Seakit...after my mother."

Goldstar saw her eyes tear up a bit while they looked down at their daughter. He knew how much Seamist meant to her ever since she was killed by Grayfrost of FireClan. There was one way he could keep the gentle queen's legacy alive and help Silverheart at the same time.

"Of course we'll name her Seakit," Goldstar purred. "And I want to name the brown tabby kit Rockkit. He doesn't look like Rockstar...but I sense his spirit in him." For Rockstar had died the past year from natural causes, and Goldstar missed his old friend so much.

Silverheart purred. "Then we'll name him Rockkit. But what about our other son? The one who looks just like you?"

Goldstar looked down at his tiny golden-furred son. His fur was the same color as the sun on a bright sunny day, the same tint of fur as his. He bent his head down to the tiny kit and licked the top of his head, making him look up at him with still-closed eyes. Recalling what Silverheart told him about kits, he remembered that kits were born blind and deaf; that would change in around a half-moon.

But as he gazed down at his newborn sons and daughter, Goldstar felt another presence (warm and filled with joy) around them. When he looked up, Firestar was sitting next to Silverheart along with Goldenstripe; a pale ginger she-cat with green eyes sat with them, and Goldstar guessed this was Sandstorm, Firestar's mate. The three cats bent their heads down to lick each kit on the head before looking back at him.

"I am so proud of you, Goldstar," Goldenstripe rasped, his eyes lively. "Silverheart is right. You will make a great father."

"T-Thanks," Goldstar replied, dipping his head to his mentor.

Sandstorm purred, "Come on, there's no need for formalities around us! You should be proud of yourself and your family."

Goldstar looked around at Sandstorm and saw nostalgia in her green eyes. Firestar nodded with her and meowed, "Goldstar...once again, the Clans and StarClan thank you for all you had done for these past moons. Now you deserve a rest...like the sun that goes down until a new day. May your time with your family be filled with joy, peace, and love."

At this, all three StarClan cats disappeared.

Looking back at the crowd of cats that gathered outside, Goldstar felt small tears of joy run down his face. As usual, Firestar had given him an easy clue for something like he had done during the final battle. Unlike Whitestorm the Second, the ThunderClan leader had understood every choice he made after the war. And now he was here with Silverheart...and he now knew what to name his second-born son.

"I have an idea for a name for him," Goldstar finally meowed, turning to Silverheart. When his mate raised a brow at him, he let the truth out, saying, "How about Sunkit? For his golden pelt?"

"Really?" Silverheart asked him. "I thought you'd name him Goldenkit...after your mentor."

Goldstar nodded. "I know, but there's another reason his name should be Sunkit. Goldenstripe had an Avatar Cat ancestor named Sunclaw...so I thought it'd be a good name for him."

To his relief, Silverheart smiled at this. She leaned forth to lick his cheek before meowing, "Sunkit's a very fine name. Our kits have very fine names."

She bent her head back down to groom Seakit, Rockkit, and Sunkit, who let out small mews. Goldstar gave her a lick in return before letting the others inside to see the newborn litter and taking a breath outside. Already, the moon was rising high into the sky, a bright full moon that shone moonlight down onto the island, and the stars were glittering like crystals. The coolness of the leaf-fall air made him feel much better after the worrying done today.

_They live in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_They live in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_They're watching over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

A familiar sweet scent made Goldstar turn around and gape in surprise. Silverheart had padded out of the nursery and sat down beside him, smiling tiredly.

"Silverheart? What're you doing out here?" he asked. "What about the kits?"

"I wanted to come find you, and Echo's nursing them until I go back." Silverheart nudged him and meowed, "So what'd you think of our kits?"

Goldstar smiled back. "I already said it. They're beautiful...and I'm so proud of you."

The silver tabby queen gave a gentle purr of thanks before licking his cheek. As Goldstar felt her tongue gently lick him, she stepped back to purr, "I felt the StarClan cats beside us when we were naming the kits. StarClan will always live in you and will always watch over you. And I want to do the same for you and our kits. I love you with all my heart and all my soul, Goldstar. I always have...and I always will."

"I love you too, Silverheart," Goldstar meowed back as he rubbed his nose against hers. "I've always wanted to tell you that ever since I met you in the South Pole. And I want Firestar and the rest of StarClan to watch over the both of us together."

_In every creature (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In every star (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_They live in you_

He saw his mate's dark blue eyes shine with happy tears as she stepped forth to catch him in an embrace. When they split apart, Silverheart began to pad wearily back to the nursery, flicking her tail at Goldstar to follow her. Goldstar got to his paw and followed her back there, but not before looking around to look back up at the sky. When he did, he saw a familiar constellation of a cat, a certain cat he had faith in.

_Firestar...thank you._

_Ingonyama Nengw' Emelabala_

_Ingonyama Nengw' Emelabala_

_**(The End)**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: Finally...we're done. For real this time.**

**Katara: (Her eyes filled with tears) That...was so beautiful, Wildstar. Thank you...thank you for this amazing ending... (Kisses his cheek)**

**Wildstar93: (Blushes) No problem. And would you like to say the review thing?**

**Katara: Well...okay. But as long as you list the reviewers so far again. (To the readers) Be sure to read and review, everyone! Those who do will get a virtual plush doll or figurine of your favorite ATLA character in their cat form. We will NOT allow flames on here, but we DO allow advice and constructive criticism. But if there's something wrong with this chapter, let us know, and Wildstar will fix it.  
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**Wildstar93: And here's the list of reviewers so far. Thank you all!**

_**Sunheart13, fanfic meister, The Great Detective Mei, and Guest**_

**Both: SEE YA NEXT TIME! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


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